The Missing Girl
by name-me
Summary: An argument between the two CSI women takes an unexpected turn, as one is forced to reveal something she would have rather kept to herself. During this difficult time in her life, she will need all the support she can get. Deals with sexual assault.
1. Chapter 1

**I know that most of my stories tend to bit a bit depressing and can contain some pretty dark themes and this story is no exception. I don't want to spoil it for you, but just be warned and take note of the rating! In saying that, I hope you enjoy the story and please feel free to leave me a review. I love to hear your opinions on my writing!**

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It was the start of what would be yet another long shift. It's duration only exacerbated by the fact that most of the night shift had come in to work early, having left late from their previous shift, all determined as always to find that key piece of evidence that could help put another of Nevada's criminals behind bars. But at least they hadn't resorted to pulling full-blown double shifts, or not yet anyway. The brightly lit air of the break room held it's usual aroma of coffee, old books and print powder and the gentle hum of the air conditioning unit and the distant sound of diagnostic machinery at work were the only thing breaking the silence as Warrick Brown sat hunched over his case file, desperately trying to piece together the information before him. He heard the clicking of heals, knowing whom they belonged to well before their owner spoke.

"Hey there Warrick. You here early too?" Catherine breezed as she walked in, a stack of test results in hand, in search of coffee.

"Hey Catherine." He said distractedly. "Yeah, this serial rapist thing is getting really out of hand. Just can't stop thinking about those poor women you know, so I thought I would try and get in a couple of hours before the shift starts." He rubbed his forehead with his hand and leaned back in the chair.

"We all have cases like that Warrick. Don't let it drag you down too far." She said sympathetically, pouring the dark liquid from the already half empty pot.

"Yeah I know. It's just it's only a matter of time before he escalates you know. I mean last night was the first in a week without a new case."

"Well maybe he's slowing down." She said optimistically, sitting opposite him at the large table.

"Yeah maybe." He shrugged, not so sure that she was right. "Or maybe the latest girl just wasn't brave enough to speak up."

"You want me to take another look?" She offered.

"Sure." He sighed in defeat, pushing the file across to table to meet her out stretched hand.

"So he drugs them, presumably follows them in their cars or offers to drive them somewhere in their cars and then they wake up later in their own vehicle down some side alley having been raped, with no memory of what happened." She said trying to straighten out the facts in her head as she flicked through the pages of the file.

"Yeah. But we don't know where he is drugging them or how, none of the women seem to have anything in common except our rapist." He added.

"Well," She sighed. "I've got the results back from the last girl, Jenny Carr, and the seminal DNA matches that of the other victims, no surprises there. It just confirms that her attack was connected to the others."

"Yeah, I finished processing her car at the end of last shift but there was nothing to lead us to the attacker, nothing to connect her to the others, no receipts, shopping bags, coffee cups... I don't know Catherine, this whole case is just so frustrating. There are five women, that we know of, who have been attacked by this guy and apart from his DNA, which is no good unless we have a suspect, we have nothing."

"I know. We just have to be patient." He was about to speak up, to tell her that there wasn't time to be patient while he was still out there claiming other victims, but he stopped himself when Greg walking in, closely followed by Nick.

"Hey there guys." Nick said. "Ready for another shift."

"Aren't we always Nicky." Catherine smiled and the two men seated themselves ready to be given their nights assignments.

"Any leads on your serial case?" Greg asked.

"No, we're pretty much at the same point we were two nights ago, just with an extra victim." Warrick said, rather more abruptly than he had meant to. Greg just nodded, knowing that this case was hard on all three of the CSI's working it.

"Where's Sara? She's still working the case right?" He added, realising she wasn't there, which seemed a little unusual as she was always at work early.

"She left even after I did yesterday so she probably isn't here yet." Warrick said nonchalantly. "She might seem invincible but I'm sure even Sara must have to sleep some times."

"Want to bet on that?" Nick said as Sara, as if on cue, walked through the door, oblivious to the conversation she had just missed. She smiled at everyone and sat down.

"Hey Sara, you get any sleep today?" Catherine asked, warranting a quick glare from Warrick.

"Enough." She said quietly, her gazed fixed on the ground. Nick smiled at his friend and shrugged as Warrick just rolled his eyes in return. A comfortable silence fell among the team for a brief moment before their supervisor walked in.

"Ah good, I see we're all here." He said, glancing quickly around the room. "Nick and Greg, have you got your report written up from the case you closed last night?"

"Yeah boss here you go." Greg said, handing him the folder in exchange for a new assignment slip. "Thank you Greg. I want you two together on this case too. DB at the Berlingo." They both nodded.

"Come on then Greggo, let's get going. And I'm driving this time, no more of that flipping-a-coin crap." He said waving is finger at the younger man. "I'm pulling seniority here, I just can't hack anymore of your taste in music."

"Great, so country music it is then." Greg teased as they made their way from the break room, Grissom rolling his eyes and shaking his head in a seeming disapproving manner.

"I take it you guys are still working on your serial case?" He said addressing the remaining members of the team.

"Sure are." Catherine confirmed.

"Well I'll be down in autopsy if you need me." He said, leaving to work on his own case, knowing there was little chance of his assistance really being required.

"So then," Catherine said, turning to Sara and Warrick. "I'll go and get the tox results from Henry, although I think I already know what he's going to say."

"Yeah right." Agreed Warrick. Rohypnol seemed to be this guy's drug of choice.

"Sara can you go and see if Hodges has finished running the white powder we found in that car?" Catherine requested as she began to make for the door.

"Um, yeah sure." She said, looking up briefly from the floor and giving a tentative smile but making no move to stand up.

"Ok." Catherine said slowly, noticing the lack of Sara's usual enthusiasm but deciding to say nothing, assuming that Warrick was right after all, and that she did need sleep sometimes but clearly hadn't got any.

"I'm just going to take this to the layout room," Warrick said to Sara standing up and waving the file at her. "See that there isn't something we have just overlooked."

"Ok, I'll meet you there." She said, her words oddly disjointed. Warrick frowned briefly but like Catherine, decided to leave the subject of Sara's odd mood alone.

Now Sara was alone in the room and she didn't know if it made her feel better or worse. She didn't much feel like talking but then again, she didn't want to be by herself right now either. She sighed and stood up to leave, the aching in her body instantly returning as she moved. She pushed the pain and the memories away again as she headed towards the trace lab as requested. Thankfully it seemed Hodges was somewhat in demand and was far too busy to try and makes jokes or idle conversation. She picked up her results with a simple "thank you" and made her way to the layout room, stopping by the bathroom on the way, knowing that her body was trembling and that she would be unable to hide it from Warrick. She looked at herself in the mirror. In the harsh light of the bathroom her skin look pale to the point of translucence and her eyes looked dark and hollow. This ghostly figure was not Sara Sidle. She ran a trembling hand down the side of her cheek and neck then let it fall suddenly back to its position on the edge of the sink. She tightened her grip on the cool porcelain, rocking back on her heels and taking a deep breath. She fought back the tears, swallowing hard as she looked back up at herself. She would not cry. She would not cry. She took another deep breath and let it out slowly as if the exaggerated exhalation would let out some of the pent up humiliation and fear held inside of her. She felt cold, but at least now the trembling had lessened. With that, she left the solitude of the bathroom to face a task of trying to tackle this all too haunting case.

She found Warrick fighting with a large map, trying to unfold it on the layout room table. Silently, she placed the trace results on the table and leaned over to help him. That done, she pulled out a stool and sat, her eyes fixed on the map.

"So?" Warrick said expectantly. She looked up at him confused. "The results?"

"Oh," She picked up the sheet and handed it too him. "Sweetener." She said as he read the chemical analysis.

"Sweetener? Well that doesn't help us much." He sighed. "Could be from anywhere. Did we find any coffee cups of food wrappers in her car?" Sara shrugged. Warrick sighed. She had the files in front of her and he had hoped she would look and find out the answer to his question. Apparently not. "Can you pass me the file?" He said, his tone portraying his annoyance. She slowly picked up the top folder and handed it to him. He took it from her rather abruptly, making her flinch slightly, but he didn't notice. He studied the report silently as Sara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Seemes she liked to keep her car pretty neat." He said, closing the file and putting it back down on the table. She nodded.

"What's with the map?" She asked quietly.

"I though maybe if we plotted the routes the women were travelling on when they were attacked then we might be able to find some common point or anything really to link them together."

"Want me to help?" She offered.

"Sure." He lent over the table to retrieve another folder from the pile in front of Sara, giving them half each to work on. "We should plot the directions they were travelling and the locations where they were attacked." She nodded and opened the first folded, only to be confronted with and image of the injuries of one of the victims. Large blue and black bruises on her abdomen and thighs. She swallowed hard, mentally fighting back a horrible and unexpected feeling of nausea. With a trembling hand she turned over the image and began to read the victims account of what had happened, trying to pull out the relevant information. Warrick had just placed the first sticker on the map when Grissom appeared in the doorway.

"Warrick, have you got a minute?"

"Uh sure." He said, slightly apprehensively.

"I need help with a little experiment." Warrick inwardly groaned. As much as he liked working along side his supervisor, his experiments could be a little trying at times.

"Can you finish up here?" Warrick directed at Sara. She nodded but didn't speak. "Ok then, where do you want me?" He asked, following Grissom out of the room. And she was alone again_. Ok Sara you can do this._ She told herself. _Just work._ Although as methodical and thorough as usual, her work was slow and interrupted by unhelpful and harrowing thoughts.

"Hey Sara, how you getting on?" Catherine's sudden appearance at Sara's side startled her and it took all her strength for the slight gasp not to turn into a scream.

"Um ok." She said, turning back to look at her work. Catherine nodded. She had hoped for some expansion on that but Sara was emanating an air of distinct uneasiness and it was obvious she was not in a good mood. _This is going to be fun._ Catherine sighed. "So, what are you doing?" She prompted.

"Mapping out the routs the victims were taking when the were attacked." Sara explained, her voice completely monotone.

"Ok, and where is Warrick?"

"With Grissom. Helping with an experiment." Catherine nodded, peering over Sara's shoulder at the map.

"There doesn't seem to be any real pattern emerging." She observed.

"Well it's not finished yet." Sara huffed defensively. Catherine just rolled her eyes.

"These are the locations where the victims woke after their attacks right?" Catherine said, leaning over Sara to point at the red stickers on the map. Sara nodded, unconsciously holding her breath, the closeness making her feel uncomfortable.

"They're quiet a way from the directions the women were travelling." Catherine added with interest.

"I guess." Sara shrugged.

"Have we looked into getting the traffic videos for any of these roads from around the times of the attacks?"

"Not yet." Catherine frowned, Sara's abruptness seeming more than just a little rude. She was about to say something when Warrick returned, looking a little dishevelled.

"Have fun?" Catherine smirked.

"Oh yeah." He smiled sarcastically walking around the opposite side of the table to the two women. He looked at the map, then at Sara and frowned.

"You still not finished with this?"

"Almost." Sara replied, placing down another sticker and marking on the victim's initials. Warrick looked up at Catherine and shrugged. Just then Catherine's phone began to ring, she flipped it open and held it to her ear.

"This is Catherine…Yeah…I as wondering how long it would be…I know…Yeah ok, see you there…Ok thanks Jim." She closed her phone and sighed. "We have our next victim." She aid sadly.

"Same MO as the others?" Warrick asked.

"Yeah, Brass is at Desert Palms with her now. Warrick, you stay here and finish up with this, Sara you can come down to the hospital with me…"

"I can't." She said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Catherine asked, slightly shocked.

"I can't." She repeated, not meeting the eyes of either of her colleagues.

"What, do you have some better place to be?" She shook her head.

"Then you're coming with me."

"But…"

"No buts Sara. I'm you're superior and the lead on this case, you will do as I tell you." Sara flinched as Catherine raised her voice. "We're all tired Sara but that doesn't mean…"

"That's not it."

"What?"

"That's not it." She gulped.

"Then what is it? Bad time of the month? Because quite frankly Sara you have been in a horrible mood since you arrived tonight and I'm not prepared…"

"Hey Cath." Warrick decided it was time to intervene before this got out of hand. "Come on." Sara stood up, her legs feeling weak as her whole body trembled. Despite her anger, Catherine couldn't help but notice how terrible she looked, the colour drained completely from her already pale face.

"I need to go, I'm sorry." She mumbled as she made her way hurriedly from the room.

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**Ok so maybe you can see where this might be going... maybe not. Either way, I would to hear what you think. I will try and post the next chapter soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

For the second time that night Sara found herself in the bathroom of the CSI's lab, her body trembling as she looked at her pale figure in the mirror. She tired to calm herself, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. But it was to no avail. She could feel the tears she had spent hours repressing finally burning in her eyes. It felt like an age before the bathroom door burst open, but in reality it was only a matter of seconds. Sara didn't even need to turn around to know whom it was standing in the doorway.

"What the hell is going on with you Sara?" Catherine boomed as the door swung shut behind her with a loud band. Her fragile nerves made her jump at the sudden noise but she didn't answer, didn't even look up. "If you aren't going to do as I ask you on this case then I'll have to get Grissom to pull you off it."

"Fine." She mumbled as she finally moved to push past Catherine and out into the hallway.

"Fine? What you think I won't actually go through with it?" Catherine continued to shout as she followed the brunette down the corridor, ignoring the attention she was drawing from those working around them. "You know Sara, I have had enough of your attitude. You are acting like such a child!" Sara pushed open the door of the locker room, not bothering to turn on the light. Still remaining silent, she pushed her key abruptly into the lock of her locker and pulled open the door. "Answer me Sara." She shouted. "What is going on?" It was only then she realised what Sara was doing. "Where do you think your going?" Catherine asked from her position in the doorway.

"Home." Sara replied simply, bending down to pick up her bag.

"Well if you are going to continue acting in this way, maybe that's the best place for you." Catherine snapped as Sara slammed her locker shut and stormed towards the door. "What, I don't even get an explanation?" Catherine said, stepping into Sara's path.

"No you don't." Sara said. "I have to go." For the first time, her voice began to betray her, cracking as she spoke. When Catherine didn't move, she spoke again. "Please Catherine, I have to go."

"Not until you tell me what this is about."

"It's none of your business Catherine, now let me go." She said, raising her voice again in desperation.

"Excuse me Sara, but when it's effecting your work, then it is my business." Catherine persisted. "I am your superior…"

"Ok then Catherine, you want to know what's wrong?" Sara said, looking up to meet her eyes for the first time. "Your missing girl. I'm her." Catherine looked confused. "Our serial rapist." She continued, taking a step back and dropping her bag to the floor beside her. "I'm last nights victim." There was a stunned silence as Sara tried to gulp back the threatening tears. "So there you go 'Miss superior' why don't you go and stick my little dots on your dam map and let me go home." Tears were spilling onto her cheeks now as she stood numbly in the middle of the darken locker room, a heavy silence surrounding the two women. Catherine couldn't speak, Sara's words ringing in her ears. She swallowed hard and took a step closer to the girl who was trying to fight back her tears, wiping the moisture from her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Sara…" She spoke quietly, holding out a hand as a gesture of peace.

"What, you want to be my friend now? You want to try and make the victim feel better?" She snapped.

"No Sara…"

"Then let me go." She gathered her bag and headed for the door only to be stopped again by Catherine taking hold of both her arms. "Don't touch me!" She shouted, shaking off Catherine's hands and stepping back, her heart suddenly pounding hard in her chest.

"Sara please," Catherine begged, knowing that she couldn't let her leave now. "Talk to me." She stared at the blond for a moment, her breathing ragged and shallow. Catherine always seemed so strong, so determined. She had come to Sara when she had needed help despite their differences. Maybe Catherine could understand, having thought that she too had been a victim of sexual assault. But things had ended better for Catherine. She bit her bottom lip, closing her eyes for a moment to try and compose herself before she spoke, all the time Catherine patiently watching her with a concerned expression on her face.

"What do you want me to say? I can't tell you anything." She cried.

"Try Sara, please. Tell me what happened. Just, just talk to me..." Catherine said again.

"But I don't know what happened Catherine." She shouted waving her hands in a gesture of frustration. Then her voice lowered as she continued. "I remember leaving the lab and then… nothing." She shrugged, shaking her head as another tear escaped from her dark eyes. "I just don't know what happened." And then she broke. The tears fell freely and her shoulder shook, her legs threatening to give way beneath her. Catherine rushed forward, close to tears herself upon seeing her friends anguish. She took Sara's bag from her hand and dropped it to the floor before taking Sara in her arms and holding her close to her body, wanting to protect her from the pain.

"Sara, I'm so sorry." Catherine whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

"I wanted to say something." She sobbed. "I wanted to tell you but it was too hard. I thought I was stronger than this but when I got here, saw you all, I couldn't do it. I'm sorry."

"Hey it's ok." Catherine soothed.

"I didn't want you to treat me differently."

"Why would we do that?" Catherine asked, pulling away to look at Sara's tear stained face.

"Because I'm just another victim now." She mumbled, embarrassment evident in her shaking voice.

"Sara, you will never be just another victim. Don't think that, don't ever think that." She nodded, wiping away her tears. Catherine silently led her to the bench that ran the length of the room and encouraged her to sit, hoping to stop her trembling. She sat close, keeping her hand on the girls back.

"Did you go to the hospital?" She asked tentatively when Sara seemed to have calmed a little.

"No." She admitted quietly. Catherine nodded but didn't say anything more, knowing how hard it could be for some people. If this job had taught her anything, it was that people reacted to violence in all sorts of ways. It had also taught her that at times like this, people needed support, not orders to go to the police or to the hospital.

"Does everyone have to know?" Sara asked quietly.

"Sara sweetie, it's going to be hard to keep this from the team. At the very least Warrick is going to need to know. This is his case too." She said apologetically. She nodded, subconsciously biting down on her lower lip.

"Does Grissom have to know?" She asked after a moment. Catherine's expression gave her the answer.

"I'm sorry Sara. He'll need to know why you're not on the case anymore and you'll need a phsyc. evaluation and…"

"Ok, ok. I get it." She sighed, cutting her off. They sat silently for a while. Sara played nervously her fingers, her gazed fixed to the floor. Catherine thought for a moment, she wanted to make this as easy for Sara as she could. She had already been hurt so much. ,

"Sara," Catherine began, waiting until she looked up before she continued. "If you want us to pass this case over to days…"

"No." She said quickly, turning to face the older woman, a sense of urgency in her voice. "No I want you to do it. I don't want them to know." She stopped for a second to take a deep breath, not wanting to cry again. "This is your case, I want… I want you to do it." She said more quietly.

"Ok." She said, moving her hand to squeeze Sara's shoulder, sensing her panic rising. "It's ok."

"So what now?" Sara asked after a short silence, her focus back on the floor.

"That's up to you sweetie."

"But I don't know what to do?" She said, her voice shaking again and her eyes refilling with salty tears.

"And that's alright Sara. Nobody is expecting you to know what to do." Catherine said, eager to prevent any further upset. "Ok?" Sara nodded, successfully keeping the tears at bay.

"Yeah." Catherine squeezed her shoulder again, giving her a smile that told her everything really would be ok.

"So do you want to go to the hospital? I can take you. Or I can take you home if you prefer?"

"I guess I should go to the hospital." She replied quietly.

"Ok." She paused, rubbing her hand up and down Sara's back. "They don't have to know yet. We can just say we are going to the hospital to do the interview for the case. I mean Warrick already thinks that's were we're going." She offered. Sara looked up and gave a weak smile.

"Thank you." Smiling, Catherine came to her feet and collected her bag from her locker. Sara sat silently, running her hand through her hair before letting it fall back down over her face, not having the energy to fight with it.

"Here." Catherine knelt in front of her, holding out a tissue.

"Thanks." Sara said, gratefully accepting it and wiping her eyes then proceeding to run the tissue through her fingers, gradually tearing it up as she did so. "I'm such a mess." She mumbled.

"Hey," Catherine said, covering Sara's hands with her own. "You're doing just fine."

"Really? Because I feel…" She hesitated and shook her head.

"No, go on." Encouraged Catherine. "How do you feel?"

"Vulnerable. And Scared." She admitted. "The worst part is not even remembering… I just know it happened." Silence fell between them again. Catherine tightened her hands around Sara's.

"Come on." She said standing up and encouraging Sara to follow. "Ok?" Sara nodded. Catherine's hand came to the taller woman's face, tucking her soft brown hair behind one ear. Placing a hand on Sara's back, Catherine led her to the door. They paused as Catherine's hand reached for the handle.

"I'll meet you at your car." Sara said quietly.

"You alright?" Catherine asked concerned.

"Yeah it's just… we go from screaming at each other to… this." She said, chuckling at how ridiculous she must sound. "People might be a little…" She couldn't think of the right word.

"Suspicious." Catherine offered.

"I just don't want people asking questions." She said sadly. "Not yet."

"Ok." Catherine smiled. "I'll see you out there in few minutes." Then she left, leaving Sara alone in the still dark room. She turned and leaned her back against the door. She pulled her bag to her chest, allowing her chin on rest on it. Closing her eyes she let out a deep sigh. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, just letting the darkness and the quiet surround und her and seep into her, making her feel oddly calm. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to face the world outside of that door. She knew it would be full of questions and sympathetic look and neither of those things had any appeal. But it was only right that she try and help catch this guy, after all that was her job. If she made this about the other girls and not about her, it seemed somehow less daunting, so that's what she would do.

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**First of all, thank you all for the reviews for the first chapter. I think most of you had a good idea of what was coming so the bulk of this chapter is probably of no great suprise, but I really hope you enjoyed it anyway. This is a difficult subject to deal with and I hope that I have so far handled in a way which causes no offence or upset to anyone!!! **

**Please let me know what you think of this latest chapter. The next one is already underway... **


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing was said on the drive to the hospital. The only sound was that of the passing traffic floating in through the open window. The air was heavy and hot and smelt like rain. Catherine focused on the road, occasionally glancing towards her companion, worried by her lack of responsiveness. Sara for her part had her focus on the familiar neon lights of the city, letting the colours fill her mind in replacement of the apprehension she felt towards her hospital visit. The silence continued once they were inside, the bare minimum of words spoken to the doctors and nurses and receptionists. Sara noticed each look, each apologetic expression from those who knew what must have happened to her. Each one of those faces reminded her of her childhood, the looks she had been given in the hospital back then, the looks she had been given in the foster homes.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Catherine said, her hand resting on Sara's arm as the nurse led her to a cubicle. Sara shook her head.

"That's ok. I'll wait right here." She said gently, wanting to assure Sara that she would not be alone through this.

The exam was embarrassing and uncomfortable and the doctors comforting words did little to make the experience any less humiliating.

Catherine found herself pacing back and forth in the harshly lit hospital corridor, nervously running her hand through her hair. Her stomach was churning with the guilt of having been so angry with Sara earlier that night.

"Miss Willows?" The doctor appeared, the SAE kit in hand. She was an attractive woman, probably no older than Sara, her red hair tied neatly back from her face in a simple ponytail.

"Yes?"

"I have finished with Miss Sidles exam…"

"Is she ok?" Catherine asked before she could stop speaking.

"As well as can be expected." She said, smiling sympathetically. "She seems a little shaken and she was reluctant to talk." Catherine nodded, not entirely surprised by this.

"Is this for me?" She asked, gesturing towards the kit in the doctor's hand.

"Yes. I'm afraid there were definite signs of sexual trauma." She said sadly, handing the kit over. "I'm sorry."

"Can I see her?" Catherine asked.

"Sure."

"Thanks." She walked over the curtain surrounding Sara's cubicle, standing close as she spoke. "Sara? Is it ok to come in?" There was no answer so she tried again. "Sara?" She drew back the curtain, just enough to glance at the girl sitting on the bed, her back towards her. She hesitated for a moment, not sure how Sara would react if she just walked in. "Sara?" She said again, stepping forward and reaching out a hand to rest in on her shoulder.

"Can I go home now?" She asked quietly, not turning to look at Catherine as she dropped herself onto the bed next to her.

"Yeah sweetie, you can go home now." Sara nodded and slid herself from the bed.

"Have you spoken to the other girl yet?"

"No." Catherine admitted. "I asked Sofia to speak to her and take the kit to lab." Sara turned to look at her, revealing how tired she looked.

"But…"

"I told her that you weren't feeling well and that I had to take you home. Don't worry, I didn't mention this." Sara smiled gratefully. "Nobody has to know until you're ready." She could see the worry on Sara's face and knew what she was thinking. "I wont say anything to Wendy when she runs the kit unless she asks, and I'll make sure she keeps this to herself." Catherine stood up now too and rested her hand again on Sara's arm. "You can trust her Sara, you know that." She nodded, knowing Catherine was right. "And you can trust me." She nodded again and bit her bottom lip, swallowing back on the lump that was forming in her throat. The rustling of the curtain being draw broke the silence and Catherine turn around to see the red-haired doctor had returned.

"Hi, sorry if I'm interrupting."

"No, no it's fine." Catherine assured her, stepping to the side so Sara could see her also.

"I have a prescription for some pain killers for you." She said addressing Sara.

"No." Sara gasped looking up suddenly. "I don't want it, I don't want any drugs, please…"

"Hey Sara, it's ok." Catherine said, stepping in front of her and taking hold of both her arms, shocked by her reaction to this suggestion. "You don't have to take them if you don't want to."

"I don't." She said simply, instantly relaxing a little in Catherine's arms. "I don't." Catherine turned to the young doctor looking for some reassurance that this was a normal reaction, not sure what to do next.

"Miss Willows is right." She said, as if reading Catherine's mind. "If you don't feel you need the pain killers than you don't have to take them. But how about I give you the prescription anyway, in case you change your mind."

"Why don't I take it for you Sara?" Catherine suggested, sensing her uneasiness, as Sara made no attempt to move and take the drugs from the doctor out stretched hand.

"Ok." She said quietly. "Thanks." She smiled at Catherine then looked to the doctor. "Is it ok for me to go now?" The doctor nodded.

"If you like, I can give you the number of a support group. Some people find that talking to other…"

"Thank you but I'm fine." Sara cut her off mid sentence. "I really… I just want to go home."

"Ok. Take care of yourself Miss Sidle." Catherine slipped her arm around Sara's waist and led her towards the door.

"Thank you." She said over her shoulder with a grateful smile.

The ride to Sara's apartment was quiet also. Catherine had dropped Sara off there once before and managed to direct herself well. It was only when they very close she had to break the silence and ask for directions.

"Where now Sara?"

"The next left." She replied, quietly. Catherine obediently flicked on her indicator and turned the car. "It's this building on the right." Sara said, shuffling in her seat to gather up her bag and coat. Catherine turned into a parking space and brought the car to a halt, turning off the engine before she spoke again.

"Sara, I'm sorry about the way I treated you earlier on tonight. I should have realised something was upsetting you but instead I jumped to the conclusion that you were just tired or angry about this case..."

"It's ok." Sara said quietly, fiddling with her keys in her hand.

"No it's not. I was angry with you and I shouted at you and upset you when you really needed a friend." She paused for a moment. "I'm really sorry Sara. That should never have happened." Sara looked up from her hands to meet Catherine's eyes and she could see how much the guilt was hurting her. Then she turned her attentions to her apartment building and the dark expanse of the car park that lay between her and her home.

"Would you come up with me?" She asked shyly, changing the subject.

"Of course." Catherine said, watching as Sara slowly unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door. She saw the slight wince of pain as she moved to swing her legs from the car and drop herself to the ground. She quickly got out of the vehicle herself and made her way around to Sara's side, placing a hand on the small of the girls back to lead her towards her apartment.

"My car is still at the lab if you want to take it to process." Sara said as they walked up the first flight of stairs. "I can give you the key." Catherine nodded. "I have my clothes from last night too. If you wait, I can get them for you." She said as slipped the key into the lock and pushed open the door. The two women stepped inside. Catherine had never been inside the apartment before. It wasn't really what she expected, but then Sara always was a bit of a mystery.

"You know Sara," She began, glancing around her casually as she spoke. "You don't have to worry about all that right now. I can come back later."

"No, it's fine." She said. "I don't want to be any trouble."

"Sara…"

"I'll be right back." She said, not allowing Catherine to finish as she shuffled off to her bedroom to retrieve the clothes. Catherine watched her walk away then placing her bag down on the coffee table began to study her friends' bookshelf. There was the expected array of forensics textbooks, one on entomology, criminal psychology and a whole collection of other books related to work. The next shelf down held a more interesting assortment of fiction books, mostly battered copies of classic novels: Moby Dick, Jane Eyre, The Catcher in the Rye, Pride and Prejudice. Catherine smiled as she ran her finger down the spine of one of the books.

"Here." Sara appeared behind her holding out a black bag full of clothes.

"Thanks." She said, receiving a small smile in response. "I never had you pegged as a Jane Austin fan." She joked gesturing to the bookcase.

"It's nice to dream you know," Sara smiled. "Pretend the right guy is out there somewhere."

"Yeah it is." Agreed Catherine.

"Um, maybe, maybe you should get back to work." Sara stuttered. "They'll be wondering where you are."

"Are you going to be ok?" She asked, noticing the slight trembling of Sara's hand as she nervously chewed on her thumbnail.

"Yeah." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Ok." Catherine smiled, not at all convinced that Sara was in any state to be left alone but knowing not to push it. "You'll call me if you need anything?"

"I will, thanks Catherine." She said, a little more assertively this time.

"Ok. You just try and get some rest." Catherine instructed as she gathered her bag and headed for the door.

"Thanks." Sara smiled as Catherine stepped out of the door and closed it behind her. As soon as the door closed, Sara slid across the chain, hoping it would somehow make her feel safer. She rested her back to the door and slid to the ground, pulling her knees up close to her aching body and hugging them tightly. Now she was alone it was ok to cry right? She hated that she pitied herself, hated that she felt so vulnerable, even around her friends.

On the side of the door, Catherine heard the chain being slid across, securing Sara in her apartment. She wanted so much to do more to help. She looked down at the bag of clothes in her hand. She knew she had to take them, process them as evidence but this whole situation just seemed so unreal. But this evidence, this was her chance to do more. She would catch this guy, whatever it took. She slowly made her way away from the apartment and down the stairs. She had just stepped outside into the muggy night air when her phone began ringing. She pulled it from her pocket and sighed as she flipped it open and held it to her ear.

"Willows."

"Hey Cath. Everything alright?" She only ever answered her phone with her surname when something was bothering her. Grissom had known her for long enough to pick up on this subtle sign.

"Yeah everything's fine Gil, I'm just on my way back to the lab."

"I uh, just bumped into Sofia. She said there was something wrong with Sara?" She opened the door of her car and perched on the edge of the driver's seat, her eyes closed as she spoke.

"She was just feeling a little under the weather. I've taken her home." She said, not being entirely untruthful.

"Well, is there anything I can do?" He asked, worry evident in his voice even down the phone.

"No Gil, everything's fine." She said again, not really listening to what he was saying and not really answering his question.

"Ok." He said, his word dragged out in uncertainty. Had Catherine been in more of a mood to talk, she would have noticed how doubtful he sounded, but as she swung herself properly into the drivers seat and turned on the engine, she barely even noticed he was speaking.

"Look Gil, I'll be back at the lab soon ok." She said, her words slightly abrupt.

"Ok. But are you sure everything is alright?" He asked again.

"Yeah Gil, I'm sure. I'll speak to you later ok." Her sentence trailed off at its end as she took the phone from her ear and hung up. She hated lying, and she knew that Grissom would almost certainly know she was not being truthful. But that was more than she could think about now. She just needed to get back to the lab and process the evidence, avoiding any and all unwanted questions so she didn't have to lie anymore. _I can do that_. She told herself. _Just keep it together. For Sara._

* * *

**Another huge thank you for all of your reviews. Hope you like this latest chapter. Please let me know... your feedback makes me smile!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

She walked through the halls of the crime lab without looking up. She pretended not to hear Judy as she spoke to her from behind the reception desk and brushed aside Hodges as he came to her with some trace results.

"Catherine. Hey Cath." Warrick called her as she passed, catching her up and laying his hand on her shoulder to stop her marching.

"Oh hey Warrick." She said, briefly turning to smile at him before resuming her travels.

"Hey Cath." He stopped her again, waiting for her to turn and look at him before he asked, "You alright?"

"I'm fine."

"What took so long at the hospital?" He asked, guessing that it may have been something there that seemed to have put her in an odd mood. Either that or her argument with Sara had continued to escalate after they left. He hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Something came up." She said vaguely. "Look, I need to get this stuff to Wendy." She continued on her way down the corridor. Warrick shook his head, confused by the way she was acting, and disappeared back into the layout room. Catherine's clicking heals as usual announced her presence in the DNA lab. Wendy turned and smiled at her politely.

"Hi. You got something me?" She asked, labelling a test tube and placing it back into its rack. Catherine held out the SAE kit, without a word. "Oh." Wendy sighed. This was not something she liked to see. "This for your serial case?"

"Yeah." Catherine said sadly, tucking a loose curl behind her ear.

"The second one tonight huh?" Wendy said sympathetically. As hard as it was for her to run the samples for these cases, it must be much harder to have to meet the victims and their families.

"What? Oh yeah." She agreed. "Can you get the results to me as soon as you're done?"

"Sure."

"Ok thanks Wendy." She said turning to leave.

"Oh no, wait." Wendy stopped her. Catherine froze, knowing what was coming. "You haven't finished labelling this. The victims name is missing." Wendy informed her. Slowly, the CSI turned to look at her, and walked back over to the workbench, running her hand along its edge as she did so. She had hoped that Wendy wouldn't hear her sharp intake of breath, as she was about to speak, but no such luck.

"You ok?" She asked, leaning slightly closer to the blond and placing the kit down next to her as she spoke.

"The victim's Sara." She said quietly, not meeting Wendy's eyes. It took a few seconds for Wendy to realise what she meant, but it seemed like an age to Catherine.

"No, Don't tell me…" But the look on the woman's face told her exactly what she meant. "Oh God…" She stepped back and lowered herself carefully onto a stool, her legs suddenly not feeling strong enough to hold her.

"She doesn't want everyone to know, so if you could keep this to yourself?"

"Of course." Catherine nodded her thanks then turned to leave again. It wasn't until she reached the door that Wendy spoke to her again.

"Is she ok?" She choked out. Catherine slowly turned back, placing her hand on the doorframe as if to support herself.

"I don't know." She shrugged, her voice shaking slightly. She dropped her head, cursing herself for getting upset. Wendy came to her feet and took a few steps towards her, shocked to see the usually strong Catherine seeming suddenly so weak and full of emotion.

"Are you?" She asked tentatively. Catherine shook her head, not looking up from the floor.

"It's just so horrible."

"She'll get through this." Wendy offered.

"I know, it's just…" She sighed.

"I know." Wendy nodded. "I better get back to work. I'll make this the priority." She said, walking back over to her immaculately tidy workbench, her hand resting next to the evidence, one finger tentatively resting against it as if it would hurt her if she got too close. "Nick can moan at me all he wants." She joked.

"I'll tell him that." Catherine smiled. "Thanks Wendy." Wendy nodded and smiled, silently telling Catherine that she was there to talk to, any time she needed it.

Then Catherine retreated to her office, tuning down the blinds to block out the bustle of her colleagues hard and work and blissfully unaware of their friends torment. She sat down at her desk with a sigh. She couldn't face processing Sara's clothes. Not yet. She pulled the pile of files for the case closer to her and opened the cover of the one resting on top. She reached over for her glasses, but stopped as a picture on her desk caught her eye. It was a photograph of Lindsey taken on a day trip to Lake Mead the previous summer. She smiled at the memory of her daughter scowling and creating a huge fuss at the thought of her mother snapping pictures of her at the lake, but then pouting and posing for each and every one. She ran her finger down the front of the glass frame, her smile quickly fading at the idea of a man hurting her in the same way Sara had been hurt. A loud knock at the door snapped her back to reality and she cleared her throat before answering.

"Come in." She watched as Warrick pushed open the door, glancing curiously around him as he came in, letting the door swing closed behind him.

"Hey Cat. What's with the blinds?" He asked.

"Oh, I um, had a bit of a headache." She lied.

"You want me to come back?" He offered, concerned in light of hearing this and the odd manor in which she was acting in the corridor earlier.

"No it's fine." She said, forcing a smile. "How can I help?"

"Well Brass called. He said he'd called you but you didn't pick up."

"Really?" She said reaching to her pocket to pull out her phone, seeing that she did in fact have one missed call. _How did I not hear that?_ She wondered silently. "Oh." She placed the phone on her desk pausing for a moment before she spoke again. "Well what did he want?"

"Our first vic, Melissa Green, turned up at the station earlier. She's starting to remember some detail about the night of her attack."

"Well let's hope she can give us something to work with. I'm really starting to draw a blank with this case."

"She said she was on her way to visit to her sister…"

"We knew that already." Catherine sighed, feeling inexplicably irritated by this.

"Yeah, but she also said she stopped to pick up some dry cleaning on the way and the shop hadn't finished with it so she went to get coffee from the place next door."

"And?"

"And then she doesn't remember anything."

"Great." Catherine sighed again, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.

"Cat," Warrick braved, stepping closer to her desk. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yes Warrick I'm sure." She said, her tone much harsher than she had meant it to be. She saw the hurt look on his face. He had only wanted to help. "Sorry." She said, offering an apologetic smile with he seemed to accept. "So um, what do you think this means?" She asked, quickly changing the subject away from her and back to the case.

"Well it gives us two potential places where she could have met her attacker. It has to be start."

"Yeah. Why don't you go down and speak to the owners, see if they remember her? Maybe they can give us something."

"You're not coming?"

"No. I have some stuff I need to do here first." She noticed his hesitance. "You're a big boy Warrick, I'm sure you'll manage." She smiled.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "I'll catch you later."

"Yeah." She breathed as the door shut behind him. "Yeah." And she knew then that she couldn't wait any longer. She really did have stuff to do here. She may have told Sara that she wasn't "just another victim", but her clothes had to be just another lot of evidence, or she would never have the strength to process them.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in her apartment, Sara had finally found some strength of her own and had finally managed to pull herself up from the floor. She now found herself stood in her bathroom, gently fingering the bruise that was forming on the delicate pale skin of her abdomen. She bruised so easily, she always had. She turned her back to the mirror, not wanting to look at herself as she tentatively removed the clothing from her lower body. She turned on the shower and stepped under the steady stream, allowing the hot water to wash away the horrible, dirty feeling that seemed to have been following her around since her attack. She lifted her face to the water, cleaning off the salty residue of her tears. She wasn't sure how long she stood there. Just long enough for her to begin feeling a little more human again. Her skin was red and the room filled with steam when she finally emerged and wrapped herself in a soft blue towel. She padded from the bathroom and into her bedroom, pulling a pair of sweat pants and loose t-shirt from her bottom draw. She slipped into the clothes and wrapped her damp hair in the towel, before flopping down on the edge of her bed. She reached over to her bedside cabinet and opened the top draw to pull out her bottle of coconut body lotion. Mindlessly, she squeezed a small amount onto the palm of her hand and began to rub it into her forearm, the sweet smell making her feel a little more relaxed and at home. But the feeling lasted for only a brief few moments before it struck her how pointless this all seemed now. She had hoped it would make her feel normal, help her forget, but it wasn't working. She dropped the bottle back into the draw and slammed it shut before pulling the towel from her hair and dropping it to the floor. Slowly, she made her way back into the living room and over to the large window which overlooked the car park below. The darkness outside caused the uneasy feeling to begin seeping back into her, making her feel lightheaded. She quickly drew the curtains, enclosing her within her apartment. She was safe there. But she was cold, despite the heat and humidity outside. She walked over to her desk and turned on the radio, turning up the volume. That would stop the loneliness, or she hoped it would. Her eyes fell to the corner of her desk and Nick's hooded sweater, which he had left there last week after a movie and beer session. She had been meaning to give it back to him but it kept slipping her mind. She picked it up and held it to her, breathing in the Texan's comforting scent. Then without thinking, she slipped the oversized sweater over her head. That would stop the cold, or at least she hoped it would. She took a moment to look around her. Every light in her apartment was lit, every pair of curtains drawn and the radio was blaring out at her. But she still felt lonely, still felt cold and still felt horribly vulnerable. _This is so pathetic._ She thought. _You have learned to deal with this after what you went through as a kid. _She wrapped her arms around her body and fell back into the corner of her couch, drawing her legs towards her, making herself as small as she could. Then she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.

* * *

**First of all can I say a massive thank you to all the people who have reviewed this story. The response to this story as been amazing and comments I have been given are so great. I really appreciate it! **

**I hope you like this latest chapter. I'm worried that the story is not developing quickly enough but I'm not sure if that is justified or not?! Please let me know what you think.**

**Thanks, and please keep reading (and reviewing!). The next chapter will be up soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

She pulled the clothes slowly from their brown paper wrapping and rested them in a pile on the table in front of her. She held up the fitted maroon shirt, which she recognised as the one Sara had worn to work the previous night, and examined it for any obvious trace evidence. _She must have been on her way home from work_, _probably hadn't yet been back to her apartment,_ Catherine reasoned. If Sara were anything like her, changing her clothes and taking a shower would have been her first priority when the shift ended, especially when they had been working a rape case. Those cases never failed to make Catherine feel dirty, even after all these years. She could only imagine how Sara must feel now. _Focus._ She told herself. _Focus._ Then she moved onto the jeans. There was stain on the top of the right leg that looked like coffee. _Could be nothing. After all this is Sara, coffee is like oxygen to her._ She thought. _But then Warrick did mention the first victim had stopped at a coffee shop..._ She shrugged and made a not of it, just in case. The next item in the pile was Sara's underwear, a pale blue bra and matching pants. Catherine's stomach lurched at the sight of a small red stain on the pants, probably blood. "Oh God." She breathed, closing her eyes and griping the edge of the table tightly with both hands. She took a deep breath before opening her eye's again but it didn't help, her stomach was still churning. "Come on Willows, pull yourself together." She mumbled to herself, cursing when she heard her voice shaking slightly. She reached for her camera, taking a picture of this disturbing evidence before setting it aside, and stuffing the clothes back into their bag. The jeans needed to go to trace. _Surely Hodges wont recognise them as being Sara's. But he's bound to ask questions._ She decided they could wait, just until Sara had decided she was ready for everyone to know.

* * *

It was early morning but already the "Bean there, done that" coffee shop was teaming with life. That was one of the things Warrick loved about Vegas, you could do whatever you wanted at whatever time of day you wanted to do it, even going out for coffee in the early hours. He hovered at the counter until her caught the eye of one of the employees. She was a small woman with cropped blond hair, painstakingly manicured and held back from her face by a thick black headband.

"Hi there, how can I help you sir?" She smiled, chirpy and helpful even at this time of day.

"Hi, my name's Warrick Brown, I work for the crime lab." He introduced himself, holding up his badge as proof.

"The crime lab?"

"Yeah. We were wondering if you recognise this woman." He held out a picture of Melissa Green. "She was in here four nights ago." The woman studied the picture and frowned.

"Four nights ago. That was Sunday right? I wasn't working then." She paused for a moment, looking behind her to a battered paper copy of the staff list. "I think Tony was though, would you like to speak to him?"

"Sure."

"Tony!" The girl shouted over her shoulder, to what Warrick assumed was the staff room. "Hey Titch!"

"What?" A deep voice answered.

"Get out here!"

"Come on Clara, I'm on my break!" He argued.

"There's someone here who needs to speak to you!" She told him, turning back and smiling sweetly at Warrick as they waited for Tony to emerge.

"So what's going on?" Asked a tall man as he emerged from the beaded curtain behind the counter. He had a shaven head and a small tattoo on his right wrist.

"Tony, this man's here from the crime lab. Wants to know if we have seen this girl before?"

"The crime lab huh?" He said taking the photo from his colleague's hand. "She in some kind of trouble?"

"No. She was in her on Sunday night and sometime after she left here she was attacked?" Explained Warrick.

"And you think I had something to do with it?" Tony asked defensively.

"No sir. We were just wondering if you could remember what time she might have been in here or if she was with anybody when she left?" Tony nodded apologetically and looked down to study the image.

"No man, I'm sorry. I don't remember her. But it was pretty busy in here on Sunday. Lots of people getting their caffeine fix before the week kicks off you know."

"Yeah I can understand that." Warrick sighed. "Well if you think of anything that might help us, give us a call." He handed over his card to man in exchange for the photograph.

"Warrick Brown." Tony read off the card. "I thought I recognised you." Warrick looked puzzled. "You went to school with my brother Chris, Chris Slater."

"Ah man, Tony Slater! How've you been man?"

"Good, I'm good. But look at you, working for the cops. Always knew you'd come good man."

"Yeah." Warrick chuckled. "They still call you Titch huh?" He joked.

"People seem to like the irony." He laughed. "Look man, if there's anything we can do to help, just drop by alright."

"Alright. Look I'll see you around Tony, I better get back to it." He excused himself and they said their goodbyes before Warrick left to return to the crime lab.

* * *

Catherine walked into the DNA lab, nervously fondling her camera. "Wendy?"

"Oh hey. Your samples aren't ready yet I'm afraid."

"No. It's not about that." Catherine said shaking her head.

"Is everything alright? Is Sa…"

"Don't worry." Catherine cut her off, noting her sudden panic. "Everything's fine." Wendy visibly calmed and settled back in her seat. "I just need to use one of your computers. The one in my office is broken and I need to upload these pictures."

"Sure." Wendy said, slightly puzzled as to why she couldn't use on of the dozens of others in the lab.

"I wouldn't ask," Catherine said, as if reading her mind. "It's just I don't want everyone to see them."

"Oh." Wendy said quietly, realising what the pictures must be of. "Why don't you use that one? It's already logged in." She said gesturing to the Computer on the opposite bench.

"Thanks." She said, settling herself at the bench and connecting her camera, the sick feeling returning to her stomach as she waited for the images to load. She could see Wendy casting her cautious glances across the room but decided not to say anything. Her stomached only tightened further when the images appeared on the screen: The bruises on her friend's abdomen, on her thighs, her upper arms. She swallowed hard, running her hand around the back of her neck.

"You ok?" Wendy braved.

"Uh-huh." She said uncertainly, biting her lower lip, her eyes not moving from the screen.

"Hey Wendy." Nick said, cheerfully, choosing this rather inopportune moment to enter the room. "Do you have my results yet?"

"Um, uh no, they're still running." She stammered, slowly turning her concerned gaze away from Catherine to look at Nick.

"Ok." He said slowly, puzzled by the strange atmosphere in the room. "Is, uh, everything ok?"

"Um…" Wendy hesitated.

"Yeah Nick everything's fine." Catherine chimed up.

"Are you sure? You don't look so good?" He said, taking a step closer, frowning at how pale she was.

"Um, yeah Nicky I'm fine." She smiled.

"You sure?" He asked again. "I heard Sara was sent home sick, maybe there's something going around." He offered knowing Catherine would probably be reluctant to admit she felt ill.

"News travels fast around here doesn't it?" She remarked, concerned for how Sara was hoping to keep her attack quiet in this place.

"That coming from the queen of office gossip." Nick smirked.

"Don't try and pretend you don't love it Stokes!" She smiled cheekily.

"Hey, I never said I didn't appreciate your ability to gather all the dirt and spread it around. That's what makes you a good CSI." He joked.

"I do not spread it around!" She said defensively, Wendy and Nick both raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Well… not much. Anyway, don't you have a job to be doing Nick?"

"Why yes Catherine, I believe I do." He smiled, turning to leave.

"Your charm isn't going work this time cowboy!" She called after him. "I am officially offended!" Nick just shook his head, laughing quietly to himself as he made his way back to the layout room. "Queen of office gossip." She huffed, turning back to her computer screen.

"He does kind of have a point." Wendy smirked. Catherine glared at her across the room. "I'm just saying…" She shrugged innocently, turning back to her own work.

* * *

_Just do it._ Sara said to herself, gripping the phone tighter in her hand. _She said to call her so just do it._ She pressed the call button and waited. There were several rings before an answer came.

"This is Catherine."

"Hi." Sara said, her moth dry with unnecessary nerves.

"Sara? Is that you?" Sara nodded, not trusting her voice and forgetting that Catherine couldn't see her. "Sara, talk to me sweetie. Is everything ok?" She asked, suddenly concerned.

"Um yeah. Its just… can you come over?" She asked quietly.

"Sure. I'm just leaving the lab…"

"You don't have to, I know you have Lindsey." Sara cut in, not wanting to disrupt Catherine's life. She knew they weren't the greatest of friends but he didn't know whom else to call.

"Hey, it's ok. I'll be there." Catherine assured her.

"Oh ok. Thanks."

"I'll see you soon." And twenty, long minutes of pacing her apartment later, Sara heard a knock at her door. She looked through the peephole, wanting to be sure it was Catherine before opening the door to her little fortress.

"Hi." She said shyly, opening the door and stepping aside to let Catherine in.

"I brought breakfast." Catherine said, waving a brown bag in Sara's direction before placing it on the kitchen counter. "You want some? It's nothing much, just some bagels from the deli on the corner."

"Sounds great, thanks." Sara smiled. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Juice?"

"Orange juice would be great." Sara set about retrieving two plates and two glasses from the cupboard and setting them out at the breakfast bar, then bringing over juice, cream cheese and some grapes from her fridge. Catherine watched her silently working away. She seemed tired, dressed in an oversized hoddie and sweat pants, her hair hanging in loose curls around her face.

"Thanks." She said, when Sara had finished laying the table and settled herself opposite her at the table. "So how are you feeling?"

"Ok I guess." Sara shrugged.

"Did you get any sleep?" Sara shook her head.

"I tried but…" She shrugged, tucking her hair behind one ear as she reached for the cheese. Catherine nodded to signal her understanding.

"I um, found your pain killers in my bag. I forgot to leave them here earlier."

"I don't want them." Sara insisted again, her eyes staying focused on her plate. She had just been drugged and raped, she didn't see how taking more pills could make anything better. Besides, she didn't need painkillers; she had suffered much worse pain before.

"Ok."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." Sara apologised after a moment.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." Catherine assured her. They ate in silence for a moment before Sara spoke again.

"I think I'm going to go down to the station later, make an official statement."

"Ok." Catherine said, slowly placing her glass down so she could turn her attentions fully to Sara.

"I think I just need to get it out of the way."

"If your sure."

"I am."

"Do you want me to come with you?" She offered.

"You don't have to do that." Sara said shaking her head and dropping her eyes back to the table.

"I know." She said, leaning across the table to rest a hand on Sara's arm, bringing her eyes back up to meet hers. "But, if you want me there for… moral support, I'm here ok."

"Ok." She smiled. "Thanks. I'd really appreciate it, if it's not too much trouble."

"It's not." They were quiet again for a moment, as their attentions turned back to breakfast. Catherine could tell there was something else Sara wanted to say but was reluctant to ask, instead settling for patiently waiting for her to speak herself. It wasn't long before her patients paid off.

"I want the rest of the team to know too. I want to tell them tonight."

"Sara, you know they don't all…"

"No, I don't want to lie to them." Catherine nodded. "I would rather I tell them than they just find out for themselves." She could see Sara was getting up set again, she could hear it in her voice, her words coming more and more rapidly.

"Ok, sweetie, it's ok." She said calmly. "I think it's very brave of you to tell everyone and I will be there for you ok. I'm sure they will appreciate your honesty."

"They won't just think I want their pity?" She asked quietly.

"God Sara is that what you think?" Sara just shrugged. "They would never think that. Those guys love you Sara they really care about you." She squeezed her hand tighter around Sara's arm, not sure what else she could do to make sure she believed what she was saying. "They would never think that you just want their pity, never. Nobody would."

"I know. It's stupid." Sara sniffed.

"Yeah, it is." Catherine agreed, using her gentlest voice so as not to upset her further. Sara chuckled slightly at this blunt response.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"For what honey?" Catherine asked, taking her hand away from Sara's arm now and picking up her bagel.

"For this, all of this. Breakfast and for just… being here to talk to."

"Don't mention it." She smiled and then noticing Sara's almost untouched food added, "Now, eat your bagel."

* * *

**Hi all. Sorry it's taken a little while to get this chapter posted. Hope it was worth the wait!? Please let me know what you think, you know I love to read your reviews. **

**And don't worry, the wait is almost over... the team (yes that includes Grissom!) will find out in the next chapter!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Catherine hurriedly made her way to Grissom's office, ready to make some excuse for being late for the start of her shift. She had left Sara in her office, having managed to avoid meeting anyone in the corridor and so avoiding any unwanted questions. She knocked on the thick wooden door but got no answer. She shrugged and pushed it open anyway, only to find the room empty. Feeling increasingly flustered, she made her way back down the corridor towards her own office, stopping when she spotted Greg on his way out of the trace lab. "Hey Greg." She called, jogging to catch up with him.

"Oh hey Catherine."

"You seen Grissom?" She asked, getting straight to the point. "He's not in office."

"He went down to ballistics I think."

"Oh, I guess I'll just wait in his office then. Thanks." Then she turned on and walked back in the direction she had just come from.

"Cath?" She turned to face him. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah Greg, everything's fine. I just need to speak to Grissom."

"Ok then." She nodded and started to walk away when it occurred to her that it wasn't really just Grissom she needed to speak to and that if she didn't ask now, everyone would be going to their scenes and it might have to wait until the end of the shift. "Actually Greg." She called after him. "Are Warrick and Nick still around?"

"Yeah I think so."

"Ok good. Well don't let them leave, I need to speak to them too."

"Ok." He said, his tone portraying is confusion.

"You too Greg. I need everyone." She said over her shoulder as she made her way to the supervisor's office to await Grissom's return.

* * *

"Ok Sara, everyone's in the break room." Catherine announced twenty minutes later as she walked into her office.

"I'm not sure I can do this." Sara mumbled, pacing the room nervously.

"Ok." Catherine breathed, worried by the sudden change of heart. "Well if you're not ready, you don't have to…"

"Yes I do." She said. "I do have to. I just… don't want to." Her breathing was becoming sharp and ragged.

"Hey Sara," Catherine walked over to her, taking hold of her arm to stop her walking back and forth. "Come on, calm down sweetie."

"I can't." She gasped.

"Yes you can. Just sit down for a minute ok." She gently pushed Sara down onto the sofa and crouched in front of her. "Ok?" Sara nodded, holding her eyes tightly closed. "Good." She waited until Sara seemed to have completely calmed and had opened her eyes again before she spoke. "Why don't I speak to them Sara? You don't even have to come." Sara considered this, playing nervously with her hands.

"You would do that?"

"Of course I would." Smiled Catherine. "I don't want to see you upsetting yourself over this."

"Ok." She nodded. "Ok thanks."

"Are you going to be ok here?" Catherine asked, not wanting leave yet if she was still upset.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I'll be back soon ok?" Sara nodded and watched her leave, the butterflies instantly returning to her stomach as the door closed behind her.

Catherine could hear the gentle hum of inquisitive conversation as she approached the break room. She hesitated, just for a moment to collect her thoughts before she entered. The whole of the night team were assembled, including most of the lab technicians. Wendy caught her eye and gave her an encouraging smile, something Catherine could not have been more grateful for at that moment.

"So then Catherine, what's so important that you have stopped my whole lab working to announce it?" Grissom asked, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Um ok, I don't quiet know how to say this." She breathed nervously. "I've just got back from the police station…with Sara." She paused and cleared her throat. This was harder than she thought it would be. "We weren't entirely honest when we said she wasn't feeling well yesterday. She um…" She paused again, biting on her lower lip to fight back the tears.

"Cath, what's going on?" Nick pushed.

"She um, had to go to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Greg couldn't stop himself, his concern over riding his usual desire to be polite. "Is she ok?"

"She um, told me during the shift yesterday that she had been attacked."

"What do you mean attacked?" Demanded Nick, anger rising inside him.

"She was um, she was raped. Probably by the serial rapist we are investigating."

"Defiantly by him." Wendy clarified from the far corner of the room. "I got the results back a few minuets ago."

"Well where is she, is she ok?" Grissom asked, the question on everyone's lips. He was just the first to overcome the shock enough to speak.

"She's…"

"I'm fine." Sara's soft, tense voice spoke up from her position in the doorway, just outside the room. All eyes turned to her.

"Sara." Greg jumped from his seat and ran across the room towards her, only to be stopped by Warrick subtly grabbing the back of his trousers, seeing Sara's hesitant step back and startled expression. Greg instantly realised what he had done and moved towards her more slowly. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, wrapping his arms gently around her. She held him for a moment too before pulling away and looking into his sad eyes.

"Thanks Greggo." Nick stepped forward too and held her to him, tighter than Greg had done. He tried hard to stop the tears from forming in his eyes but it did little to help. He had never been one to easily hide his emotions.

"How you feeling?"

"I'm ok. Tired I guess."

"Sara you know if there's anything we can do…" Warrick offered, running a strong hand down her arm as Nick stood with his hand still held protectively on her lower back.

"I know. Thanks guys." She looked over at Catherine for guidance, not sure what to do now. The elder woman smiled at her encouragingly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all earlier. I just needed some time." She looked over at Grissom now, desperate for him to say something, do something. She could usually tell what he was thinking, read his expressions, but she felt at a loss with him now. He couldn't even look at her. She thought maybe he was angry with her, but far from it. The only person he felt anger towards was the man who had hurt her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her close to him and tell her it would be alright, keep her safe. But he wasn't like the other boys and he couldn't do it. His relationship with Sara had always been different. In the silence that followed, Wendy took it upon herself to clear the room. She took hold of Hodges' arm and led him towards the door, glancing over at Archie, Henry and Mandy to tell them to follow. Each offered quiet words of comfort as they passed Sara to leave the CSI's in the room alone.

"Sara, why don't you go and sit my office, maybe Greg could bring you some coffee." She could see the youngest CSI was very shaken up by this news and giving him something to do, even if it was just making coffee seemed like a good solution. He nodded and quickly set about doing as he was told.

"I'll be there in a minute." Catherine said to Sara when she didn't move.

"Come on." Nick moved his hand up to Sara's elbow and gently pulled her back towards the door. "We'll come with you." Sara nodded, not taking her worried eyes away from Catherine until Nick had led her from the room and out of sight. Catherine looked at Grissom, who still hadn't moved from his seat, then at Greg. "Grissom, can we go to your office?" He looked at her but didn't answer. "Gil?"

"Yes." He said standing and walking towards the door. Catherine turned again to look at Greg, and motioned to Grissom that she would follow him shortly.

"Greg?" She said, walking towards him. "You ok?"

"Is she really ok?" He asked, keeping his back to her but holding his hand still, a teaspoon suspended over one of the coffee mugs.

"She will be." She assured him sympathetically.

"I can't believe this is happening to her."

"I know. But all you can do now is just be there to support her, be a friend." He nodded.

"What do we have on this guy, I mean how close are we catching him?"

"We don't have much I'm afraid. All the victims were drugged so they don't remember anything. We have one lead but it's not turned up anything as of yet." He looked disappointed. "These things just take time Greg, you know that. We'll find him." He nodded again.

"I better take these to your office." He said, holding up a tray of coffee mugs.

"Ok." She agreed, giving him another sympathetic smile. She paused for a moment before following him out and heading towards Grissom's office. She found him sat at his desk, his fingers running back and forth through his beard.

"What do I say to her Catherine?" He said as she sat down across from him at his desk.

"I don't Gil, but anything has to better than nothing." He looked up and frowned at her. "You know it was you she was most worried about telling. She looks up to you." He still didn't say anything. "But you already know that. I've told you that before." She sighed. As much as she liked Gil Grissom, he could be the most frustrating person on the planet at times.

"I'm not sure a plant will cut it this time." He said quietly, thinking back to a time before when Sara had really needed his support and his trust, and a plant was the only gesture he had offered her.

"She doesn't need a plant Grissom. She never did. She needed you, she still needs you." Catherine emphasised patiently. He nodded, taking in what she was saying and silently agreeing. "Talk to her, as her friend, then as her boss." He nodded again.

"I would um, talk to the others too." She suggested. "They seemed a bit shocked. Especially Greg. I know those two are close." She waited for a response but got none. "Or I could talk to them?" She paused a gain. "Grissom?"

"Yes, yes." He said. "I'll talk to them. Offer them a councillor."

"Ok. Good." Catherine said, inwardly sighing at his peculiar attitude.

"Can I use your office?" He asked, Catherine frowning at his odd request. "It's more… homely." Catherine smiled. "I know my office is… well it's perhaps not the place to have this kind of conversation." He continued looking around him at the array of books and specimen jars that aligned the shelves.

"Gil." She tried to stop his rambling.

"She might feel more relaxed…"

"Gil." She said again more loudly. He stopped and looked up. "Use it. Go, before you talk yourself out it." He nodded and then headed towards her office, a number of potential conversations running through his head. Catherine followed him and when he hesitated at her door went in first, leaving Grissom standing nervously in the corridor. She smiled at what she found: Sara sat on the sofa, Nick and Greg on either side with Warrick sat opposite on her desk chair. Sara was smiling, and it was a genuine smile. All four faces turned to look at her when the door opened.

"Sara?" It seemed a shame to split them up bit it had to be done. Whatever the boys had said it seemed to have worked, she looked more relaxed than Catherine had seen her in days. "Grissom would like to speak to you."

"Ok. In his office?" She said, making to stand.

"No. He's just outside."

"Oh." She settled back in the seat.

"We better get back to work." Nick said, taking this as their hint to leave. "We'll speak to you soon ok Sara." Then the boys left, to be replaced by Grissom. Catherine hovered in the doorway, unsure if Sara would want to be left alone.

"It's ok Catherine. I'm ok." Sara assured her softly, noticing her uncertainty. So with a quiet nod, she also left to carry on working on the case. Now Sara's attack was out in the open, she could process the car and take samples to Hodges and Henry without worry of the news spreading without Sara's permission. Grissom stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, while Sara remained seated, her eyes on the floor.

"Aren't you going to sit?" She asked. He came to sit by her side, and to the surprise of both of them, found his hand slipping into hers and holding it tightly and reassuringly in her lap.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened." He began uneasily. "Are you in any pain?"

"A little." She replied honestly.

"You know Sara, that none of this was your fault?" He said, knowing she herself had told many a victim the same thing, but wanting to be sure she knew it applied to her too.

"I know."

"Have you slept?" She smiled up at him. Her reaction to this question puzzling him, Grissom frowned.

"Catherine asked me the same thing." There was a pause as he waited for her answer. "But err no, I haven't."

"Do you remember anything, anything at all?" She shook her head sadly.

"You can talk to me Sara. Whenever you need to." She nodded. There was a long pause, neither of them sure what to say next. "You will need to speak to a councillor before you return to work, but you can take all the time you need, you don't have to hurry back."

"I know." She said again. They fell silent again.

"I hate that this has happened to you." He said sadly. She looked at him surprised by his honesty. Grissom rarely expressed his feelings out loud. "You have already been through so much."

"Don't." She said, angrily. "Don't make this about them." She had told him about her family out of shear necessity, not because she wanted his pity.

"Sorry. I'm not good at this." He said with a sigh. He didn't move his eyes from her face as he spoke, even though she couldn't bring herself to look at him. He reached up his hand, and rested his palm against her cheek. At first she pulled away slightly, shocked by his warm touch, but then she settled against his palm, relishing the closeness and the comfort the contact brought her. "I care about you Sara." He felt her swallow, her breath catching in her throat. "I'm sorry you felt you couldn't talk to me about all of this."

"It wasn't just you." She said, turning away from his hand to look him in the eyes. "I was embarrassed to tell anyone."

"Don't be embarrassed. What he did to you was not about sex…"

"I know Grissom, I know that. I have told lots of other people that myself in the past."

"But this is not other people Sara. This is you." He said calmly.

"You don't think I know that?" She asked harshly.

"That's not what I said." She looked at him, tears shining in her dark eyes, but she didn't speak. She didn't want to argue with him, not now. "I don't want you to feel that because you are exposed to violence everyday, that you should be able to cope with it somehow differently… or better than other people."

"I don't." She said, knowing that in fact that was not entirely true.

"You don't always have to be so strong." He said gently. He knew her too well. He knew she built walls, held her troubles inside her. True, he had seen her hurt by cases, getting attached to victims, empathising with them, but when it came down to it, Sara kept her own troubles, her own feelings buried deep inside her. He worried one day it would all become too much for her, but vowed that if that day came, he would be there to pick up the pieces.

"Trust me Grissom, I'm not."

"Just promise me Sara," He said. "You'll talk to someone, even if it's not me. Just promise me you'll do it." She looked into his eyes, seeing how serious he was about this, how much this seemed to be hurting him. _Maybe he really does care._

"I promise." There was a hesitant knock at the door. Grissom looked at Sara and smiled. This always seemed to happen with them, the constant interruptions in their lives. "It's ok." She smiled back. "You can answer it." He slowly went over and opened the door, an anxious looking Catherine on the other side.

"Sorry to interrupt."

"It's fine." He lied.

"I just need my keys and my jacket. I need to head to Desert Palms." She lowered her voice to almost a whisper, not wanting Sara to hear. "We have another victim."

* * *

**Ok guys so that was the long awaited chapter! I would really love to know what you think of the way the team have responded to the news about Sara. Obviously, there is more of their reaction/support later in the story but _please_ let me know what you think so far. **

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. Hearing what you guys think makes me happy :)**


	7. Chapter 7

"Ok Henry, what have you got for me?" Catherine Willows strode into the toxicology lab looking unusually flustered and exhausted.

"Well, Hodges sent me a sample from those jeans he analysed," Henry began eyeing the blond cautiously. Women had always had the ability to make him nervous and no more so than a bad tempered CSI Willows. "The coffee stain contained traces of Rohypnol. I would say this is how our rapist is drugging his victims." Her face immediately softened as she grabbed the results from his hand and looked at them for herself, as though she needed to see the written proof of what she was hearing.

"Thank you Henry." She sounded as though she could not be more grateful if he had handed her a diamond ring. They finally had a solid lead. "I'm going to call Brass, get him to go down to that coffee shop and have another word with the staff." Henry smiled.

"Um, Catherine?" He said hesitantly when she was leaving.

"Yeah."

"How's Sara?"

"A little better. I think having this all out in the open has made her feel more relaxed."

"Good." He said, letting out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad." Catherine smiled.

"Thanks for this Henry." She said again, gripping the results tighter in both hands. He nodded.

"I'm glad I could help."

* * *

Clad in his blue boiler suit and latex gloves, Warrick was busily searching Sara's car for any potential leads. So far he was having little luck. He shone his torch into the glove box and pulled out a small pile of papers: A couple of old fuel receipts, an out of date parking permit for her apartment block, a tatty Vegas street map, a spare note book and shopping list scrawled on the back page a copy of the department newsletter. He flipped the list over in his hand to study it more closely as Catherine walked in. He looked up to greet her.

"Hey Cath. What are you smiling about?"

"He's drugging the coffee." She said, striding across the cool garage to meet him at the car. "Henry found traces of roofies in the coffee stain on Sara's jeans. I've called Brass to let him know."

"Great. Well I've nearly finished here. I haven't found anything much, but this shopping list was written on written on a copy of this week's newsletter so it must be recent. You were in her apartment, did it look like she had just been shopping?"

"I wouldn't have said so. I know I shop for two, but her fridge was pretty empty. You think she might have been on her way to the store when she was attacked?"

"I don't know. Maybe. You know where she usually shops?" Catherine shook her head, taking the list and studying it herself, purely out of curiosity, trying to gain some insight into Sara's life. There was nothing out of the ordinary: bread, milk, eggs, cheese, tomatoes…

"You can buy these things anywhere." She pointed out. "Do you want me to ask her about it?"

"Yeah, I think she'll respond better you." He said, turning back to the car. "I'm not sure we'll get anything else from this."

"Well, we have a place to start at least."

"Yeah." He sighed. "But we already tried the people at the coffee shop and like you said, the stuff on the shopping list can be bought in any store, it might not get us anywhere."

"But it's worth a try Warrick." She said optimistically, as much for herself as for him. "Look, all we might need is something to jog Sara's memory, any of the victim's memories, and we could break the case."

"Yeah I know." He sighed. "It's just hard and now Sara's involved..."

"We'll get there War, just give it time."

"What if we don't have time?" She didn't have an answer for that, so she just shrugged and shook her head. "Maybe I just need a break." He sighed. "You had lunch yet?"

"Not yet. Fancy some company?"

"Sure." They made their way to the break room, only to be stopped halfway by Grissom, hurrying from his office.

"Good, you're both here." He said, looking relieved.

"Well observed Dr. Grissom." Catherine smiled.

"I need to speak to you both about this serial case." They looked at each other and sighed. _There goes lunch._ "I've been looking over the files. Have you found anything to connect the victims?" He asked, leading the two CSI's to his office.

"So far we haven't found anything to connect them." Warrick started. "They are all in their thirties but we have a blond, a Latino woman, one… two brunettes, a black woman and…" He paused, waiting for Catherine to fill in the details about the latest victim.

"Another blond. The only thing they seem to have in common is that they were all travelling alone in their cars, so potentially, any woman in Vegas could be a target."

"And you mapped out the routes they were travelling on is that correct?" Grissom asked, a nod from both Catherine and Warrick.

"It didn't show any pattern though."

"And have you checked the CCTV footage for the areas around where the attacks took place?"

"Archie is still working on it."

"So we have…nothing."

"We have a coffee stain containing the drug our rapist is using to sedate his victims." Catherine offered. "And a potential source of the coffee, so we have something." Grissom nodded, not looking entirely satisfied. Catherine noticed this and quickly turned her attentions to the other man for a moment. "Warrick, why don't you go on ahead, I just need to speak with Grissom for a moment." He nodded obediently and left for the break room. "So… are you ok? After your talk with Sara I mean." She asked when they were alone.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"The sudden interest in the case, the look on your face, the bottle of migraine tablets on the desk." She listed quickly the signs.

"Sara can't work the case anymore so I thought you could use a hand." He said nonchalantly.

"Come on Gil, don't give me that bull!" She said, shaking her head at him and waving her hands in frustration. He took off his glasses and rested them carefully on the desk in front of him.

"You know, you don't so great yourself." Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in offence. "I just mean you look tired." He said, clarifying his last statement.

"I'm fine."

"When's the last time you slept for more than a couple of hours?" He pushed, knowing that every member of the team was prone to sleep deprivation when a case was getting to them, and being Sara's confidant meant this case would likely be getting to her more than most.

"I'm not sure." She admitted, flopping down on to the chair in front of the supervisor's desk, rubbing her fingers across her forehead.

"Shifts over in a couple of hours, why don't you head home early? Get some rest, start fresh tomorrow night."

"I can't do that." She sighed quietly, shaking her head.

"At least take a break, have some lunch."

"I was about to, but then you dragged me in here." She smiled.

"Oh." They sat there, quietly eyeing each other for a moment. They needed each other right now and they both knew it, but as was often the way in their relationship, silent support would for now have to suffice. Neither had the strength to provide anything more.

"Are we done here?" Catherine asked smiling.

"If you think we are." She rolled her eyes.

"I seem to remember being instructed to go and eat." She said standing up to leave. "You want to join us? My money is on you having not stopped for a break yet either."

"I'm fine." She raised an eyebrow. If he wouldn't accept it from her, she wouldn't settle for it from him either.

"I didn't say you weren't. I simply asked if you would like to sit and have lunch with me and Warrick?"

"I'm not really hungry." She nodded and turned to leave. There was little point in arguing when he was in this frame of mind. "But thank you for the offer." He added. She turned to smile at him, but his head was already back in the piles of papers on his desk.

* * *

The knock at her door made her heart leap inside her chest and it began to pound hard against her ribs as she made her way over to answer it. To her relief it was Catherine she found on the other side. She slipped the chain off the door and opened it with a small smile.

"Hi."

"Hi Sara. I hope you don't mind me just dropping by like this?" Catherine said uncertainly.

"No not at all. Come in." She stepped aside and the two women settled themselves on the sofa. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you. I'm actually here to ask a few questions if that's ok?"

"Um, yeah of course." She replied, shifting uneasily in her seat. She wasn't sure that she was really ready for this but Catherine had been so great over the previous few days, she didn't feel she could say no.

"Warrick has looked over your car. He found a shopping list in the glove compartment and we were wondering if you may have been heading to the store when…" She couldn't finish the sentence. Sara took a moment to let this sink in.

"Um… I'm not sure. I was on the way back home from the lab. I left after the shift had ended but I'm not sure what time. Um…" Catherine could see her straining to dredge up the events of that morning which the drugs had so far repressed. "I think maybe I was on the way to the store. I needed milk, I still do." She laughed nervously. Catherine smiled reassuringly. "There was lots of traffic. I think there might have been road works or an accident maybe." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her left ear, momentarily shielding her face from Catherine. "I normally shop at the Save Mart off Fremont Street but I didn't want to get stuck in the traffic…"

"You're doing really well Sara." Catherine reassured her, seeing that she was beginning to struggle.

"I don't really remember anything else… I don 't remember where I went to shop instead. Sorry."

"That's ok." Sara smiled at her weakly. "Do you remember stopping anywhere for coffee?" Catherine asked.

"Coffee?"

"Yeah we found a coffee stain on your jeans. We think that's how the drug got into your system." Catherine explained.

"Oh." Sara gulped. She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her dark hair trying to piece together the other disjointed fragments of memories from that morning. "There was somewhere…" She began slowly. "It had a big window… and there was a man with a tattoo on his arm, a bird I think. I remember because I have a friend with one just like it."

"Was this man the one who…"

"No, no I don't think so. It wasn't him. He, he was stood behind a table or a counter or something. He had a nice smile." She paused. "I think he wanted to help me, like he was worried about me but I don't remember why. Sorry."

"Don't apologise Sara. You've done really well."

"It's just so frustrating." Sara sighed. "Do you have any leads?" She asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"Nothing solid." Catherine admitted. "But we're getting there." Sara nodded.

"If I remember anything else, I'll let you know." She said quietly. "It's just all still so fuzzy."

"It will start to come back. It just takes time." Catherine told her, remembering from her own experience how long it took for some memories to return. In truth, she was sure there were still things that she would never remember about that night.

"What if you don't have time?" Catherine took hold of Sara's hand. Warrick had said the same thing to her not two days earlier.

"Don't worry about that. That's for us to work on, just you concentrate on feeling better." It wasn't healthy that Sara was more worried about other victims than herself right now but Catherine wasn't sure what she could do about it. All she could do was hope the PEAP councillor could help her more than she was able to. What Catherine didn't realise was how her simply being here, in her living room, was more help than Sara could have ever hoped for. Sara was so used to dealing with life on her own, having nobody to turn to, that even the simplest gesture of kindness on the part of any of her friends was more than enough in her eyes.

* * *

**Hi all. Thanks for still reading and thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. It's much appreciated. Please let me know what you think of this chapter too. I love hearing what you think. Cheers!**


	8. Chapter 8

Nick wasn't sure if turning up unannounced on Sara's doorstep was a good idea, but he couldn't stand the thought of doing nothing. Ordinarily, with the team one CSI down, Nick would have sacrificed his night off to help out the rest of the team, but tonight as different. The rest of the team could survive without him for one shift. Sara was hurting and he wanted to help. He knocked on her apartment door, nerves making his stomach tighten as he waited for an answer. Even though they were great friends, he couldn't be sure how she would react: being around men could be hard for rape victims. Eventually he heard the rattling of the chain being taken from the door before it slowly opened.

"Nick, hi." Sara smiled.

"Hey. It's my night off and I thought you could use some company. I brought Chinese food!" He grinned, holding up a brown bag of warm, delicious smelling food.

"I guess I can't refuse then can I." Sara chuckled, stepping aside to let him past.

"Well that was the plan." He said, placing the bag down on the kitchen counter, and turning to face her. She looked much better than she had at the lab the previous night but it was clear she still wasn't feeling like her usual self. She looked tired and the enchanting sparkle her eyes usually held had faded. Her arms were crossed protectively over her stomach, her dark hair forming curtains around her pale face. He wanted so much to ask her how she was feeling, how she was coping with what had happened, but he didn't want to upset her. "I got us sweet and sour, chilli and garlic and chowmein, all suitable for vegetarians of course."

"Of course." She smiled, reaching for two plates from the cupboard and placing them down next to where Nick was carefully removing the various containers of food from their bag. He couldn't help but notice the angry looking bruises on her bare arms.

"So it's not just Catherine who thinks I can't cook for myself huh? Or is this some kind of conspiracy?" She joked, noticing herself where his eyes had fallen and now wanting him to ask her about her injuries. "Catherine was around here yesterday with breakfast." She explained when he looked confused.

"No, no it's not a conspiracy." He assured her.

"But you do think I can't cook?"

"Can you?"

"Well no, not exactly…"

"And while I may cook a mean barbeque, my culinary skills are a little limited, hence the takeaway." He said, handing her a knife and fork with a cheeky smile. She pursed her own lips into a smile, taking the cutlery from him and settling at the breakfast bar.

"Well thank you, I appreciate it."

"Good. Now dig in before it gets cold." He said pushing one of the containers towards her. They sat in comfortable silence while they dished out the food onto their plates. Sara's portion much smaller than Nicked would have liked but he didn't say anything, despite his concerns for her.

"Have I missed much at the lab?" She asked cheerfully, noticing the way he was looking at her, worry etched in his features.

"No it's all pretty quiet. Everyone sends their best." He said.

"I'm going to see the PEAP councillor tomorrow so hopefully I can be back soon." She said after another moments silence.

"Are you ready for that?" He asked placing down his fork to turn all his attention to her.

"That's what the councillor is for Nick, to tell me if I'm ready." She said quietly, pushing the food around her plate, not looking up at him.

"But what do you think?" He asked gently.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I guess I still feel a little uneasy but the thing is, I don't even know what it is that I'm frightened of."

"I wish I could help." He said, resting his hand on her back.

"You already have." She smiled. He ran his hand slowly down her arm, pausing when his palm met the blue marks left by her attacker.

"They've already faded a lot." Sara said quietly.

"These aren't the things that take time to heal." He said and she nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. "You will feel better Sara, you won't always be scared. I'm not saying you'll ever forget this but it will get easier. Trust me." She looked at him, searching his eyes for an explanation. She felt there was more to those last two words than mere empathy. There was a strange depth to how he spoke, like he had experienced what she was going through for himself. She couldn't bare that.

"Nick?" She gulped. "Have you…"

"It was a long time ago. My babysitter…" He whispered, fighting to control his emotions.

"I didn't know."

"Not many people do." He admitted.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was barely above a whisper now either.

"Like I said, it was a long time ago." She fell very quiet, only her deep shaky breathes audible. He lifted a hand to cup her face. "Are you ok?"

"I don't know. I keep telling myself I am but I'm not sure that it's true." He felt a warm tear fall to his hand and run along the edge of his thumb. He came to his feet and stepped closer to her, pulling her head to rest against his chest. She let out a loud, shaking sob, standing up to pull herself closer to him, her head now resting on his shoulder, her face buried deep into his neck. She clung tightly to the front of his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's ok Sara. You're ok now, you're safe." They stood this way for several minutes, holding each other close, each providing the support the other needed. When she had controlled her tears enough to regain the strength to speak, Sara pulled away.

"I'm sorry." She hiccupped.

"Don't be sorry. It's ok to be upset." She nodded, wiping the remaining moisture from her cheeks.

"Do you think… I could have a glass of water?" She requested, feeling horribly weak and shaky.

"Sure. You just sit here for a minute." He led her back to her chair, not failing to notice how she was swaying slightly in his arms, exhaustion taking her over. He took a glass from beside the sink and filled it with cold water before handing it over to Sara. She took a few small sips then rested it on the breakfast bar.

"I'm sorry about dinner. It's probably cold by now."

"It's ok. I'm not hungry anyway." He said, sitting next to her and turning the chair to face her.

"Nick Stokes not hungry? That'll be a first." She sniffed, trying to break the tension the revelations of the last few minutes had caused.

"You know I think you're right."

"Aren't I always?" She joked.

"Almost always." He corrected. She chuckled slightly.

"Thank you for this Nick, for being here." She said, more seriously. "I really needed it."

"What are friends for?" She smiled.

"Thank you too, for telling me about what happened." He dropped his eyes to the floor, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Are you ok?"

"I am." She squeezed his hand, only to find him squeezing hers in return. "Why don't I make us some tea?" He suggested after a moment.

"That'd be great." She watched as he set about filling her kettle and gathering mugs from the cupboard. "Do you want to watch a movie or something, if you don't have anywhere you need to be?"

"Now Sara, even I can't manage to dine two women in one night!" She chuckled, his comment having the desired calming effect. "So no, I have nowhere to be and yes, a movie would be great." He said with a grin. "And by my calculations, it must be my turn to choose the film." He added.

"Yes unfortunately that is correct." She said, giving a mock sigh of exacerbation. "Just nothing with too many car chases and gun fights"

"A romantic comedy it is then!"

"Yeah well I'm not really in the mood for all that romantic crap either." She sighed, pushing herself up from her chair and walking over the sofa. She flopped inelegantly down against the corner of the sofa and pulled her legs up towards her, hugging them close to her body. Nick watched her silently, until the clicking of the boiled kettle caught his attention and he set about making the tea. He carried the two steaming mugs over to the coffee table and placed them carefully on the wooden coasters.

"Thanks." Sara sighed, leaning over to pick up the mug from the table, cradling it in both hands. "So what do you fancy?" She asked Nick as he scanned the shelf of DVD's beside her TV. Her collection was relatively limited but luckily for Nick, Sara had fairly decent taste in movies. He pulled one from the shelf and waved it in Sara's direction. "Looks good to me." She smiled. He put the disc in the machine and then settled himself next to Sara on the couch. The sat sipping their tea and making the occasional comment about the movie: "I love this part", "Check out the outfit", "Nice car", "I had forgotten about this bit". When her drink was finished and the mug placed on the coffee table, Sara tucked her legs up beside her and rested her head against Nick's shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, just a little tired." She lifted her head slightly. "You don't mind this do you?"

"Not at all." She settled he head back onto his shoulder, relaxing her body against him. It wasn't as though they hadn't sat this way to watch a movie dozens of times before but the intimacy of their position came as a bit of a surprise to Nick, given the circumstances under which he was visiting. They were a little over halfway through the film when Nick spoke again. "You want a refill?" When she didn't answer he looked down at her and saw her eyes were closed. He decided tea could wait; he didn't want to wake her. He turned down the volume of the film so as to prevent the soundtrack from disturbing her and settled to watch the remainder of the movie. As the closing credits came onto the screen, Nick gently lifted Sara from his shoulder and laid her down on the sofa, resting her head on a cushion. She stirred slightly and for a moment Nick was worried he had woken her, but then she took a deep, sleepy breath and settled herself again. He pulled the blanket from the back of the sofa and laid it across her then switching off the TV, he made his way to the kitchen to tidy up the leftover plates of food. Despite his attempts to be quiet, the sound of Nick moving around the room and the fact that he was no longer at her side eventually woke Sara. She slowly sat up, rubbing her tired eyes.

"Nick?"

"Oh Sara, I didn't mean to wake you, sorry." He apologised, dropping the tea towel he was holding next to the sink and walking back into the living room.

"No it's ok. How long was I sleeping?"

"Not long. An hour maybe." He said shrugging. "You look like you needed it though. No offence."

"None taken." She chuckled. "Some company I've been huh?" She yawned, trying and failing to tidy her unruly hair, pulling the strands back from her face and tucking them behind her ears. .

"I don't know. I've had a nice time." She looked at him sceptically. "Ok, so I've had better times," He smiled. "But honestly, I'm just glad to see you're ok."

"I wouldn't say breaking down in tears classes as ok Nicky." She sighed.

"No well maybe that part's not so great." He said sitting down next to her. "But I bet you feel better for it?"

"Yeah I guess so."

"Now I don't want to give you the whole 'I'm here if you need me' speech because I'm sure you've heard it a hundred times by now, but well, I am, here if you need me." He said, smiling shyly at her.

"I know."

"Good." She chuckled then rested against him again with a sigh.

"You want me to leave you to get some sleep?" He offered.

"That might not be such a bad idea." She said, already fighting to keep her eyes open. She sat up and looked at him, resting her hand on his knee. "Thanks for tonight Nick."

"Any time." She began to smile but was interrupted by another yawn, taking her hand off Nick's lap to cover her mouth. Nick chuckled and pushed himself up from the sofa. "I think that's my cue to leave." She smiled shyly and stood up to see him out.

"Take care of yourself Sara." He said seriously when they reached the door. "Sleep well."

"I will." She said. And this time she thought she might be telling the truth.

* * *

**Thanks to those lovely people who took the time to leave me a review for the last chapter- you know who you are! Thank you too to everyone who has added this story to their favourites or to their alerts. If you could take just a minute to let me know what you think of this latest chapter I would really apreciate it. Your reviews make me happy, in case you haven't already guessed!!!**

**I know this chapter is a little short and a bit rambley. Have to admit, I'm a bit worried the whole story may be turning into a bit of a ramble... not sure if you aggree? If you let me know, I can try and fix it if you do!**

**Hopefully the next chapter should be up soon. x **


	9. Chapter 9

"Ok Jim, what have you got for me?" Grissom asked as he and the detective strode down the halls of the Vegas crime lab.

"Well between us we have managed to place at least four of the victims at the 'Bean there, done that' coffee shop shortly before they were attacked. Melissa Green and Stacy Marks both remember being there and some of the staff remember seeing Sara and Tara Wells on the nights they were attacked."

"And have you cleared all the male staff?" Grissom asked, sure that this would have been the first priority but needing clarification.

"Yeah, I have checked the DNA of the five men who work there and none were a match to our rapist."

"So we still have two victim's who we can't be sure were at the coffee shop. None of the staff remember seeing anything suspicious? Nobody who was there on the night of all the attacks." Grissom asked as the two men entered his office.

"Afraid not."

"Well, so far we've not had any new cases reported for two nights but that could mean a number of things."

"Right. Maybe the latest victims just haven't reported their attacks…"

"Or he could have stopped attacking, for now at least…" Grissom continued.

"Or he has escalated, started to kill the women after he has raped them." Grissom sighed.

"Lets hope not." There was a knock at the door and both men turned to see who was interrupting their discussion.

"Sheriff. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Grissom said, smiling politely at the man stood in the doorway of his office.

"Grissom, Detective Brass." The sheriff nodded in greeting at the two men. "I need you to fill me in on this serial rapist case. The press have found out about the attacks and are coming at me from all angles. I have to fight my way into my office tonight."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that." Grissom said sarcastically.

"Yes well, it's all part of the job I suppose." The Sheriff sighed. "So, what can you tell me?"

"We have six victims all of whom have been drugged, raped and dumped in their cars down seemingly random back streets around the city. None of them seem to have any obvious connections: Different ethnicities, different professions, different social classes, all from different areas of town." Grissom said bluntly.

"So how is he selecting his victims?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Wrong place at the wrong time maybe."

"You expect me to tell that to the press? A journalist from virtually every paper in the city is asking questions and I'm supposed to tell that that basically any woman in Vegas could be the next victim?" Grissom just shrugged.

"Maybe they could be."

"Come on, you must have something more specific than that?" The sheriff pushed.

"Nothing we can tell the press without potentially compromising the case." Grissom said as Brass nodded his agreement.

"How did the press get hold of this anyway?" Brass asked.

"I don't know. How do they ever get hold of information about investigations? By the way, I think you should know that they were asking if it's true that a member of the crime lab is one of the victims." Grissom raised his eyebrows and took a sharp intake of breath. Brass just shook his head.

"I bet it was one of those creeps down at the coffee shop. They knew Sara worked with us."

"Coffee shop?" The sheriff asked, quickly picking up on this snippet of information.

"Uh, never mind." Brass brushed him off and turned to Grissom.

"So Gil, how do you want to handle this? She's part of your team."

"I don't know." He sighed. "I suppose there is no point in denying it to them, as long as we can keep Sara's identity private. I don't want her being badgered by journalists. She's got enough to contend with as it is."

"I have to agree with you Grissom, if the press find out we haven't been truthful with us they will rip us to shreds." The Sheriff said. Grissom looked over to him, about to speak when he noticed a tall, familiar silhouette hovering in his door way. It was Sara. His heart sunk. _How long has she been standing there?_

"Sorry, I'll come back." She said quietly turning to leave.

"No don't." He said suddenly, startling Sara and causing her to freeze. "I uh, I mean, don't go. We are finished here anyway." He said more gently, giving the two other men a look that told them their departure from the room was not up for negotiation.

"Yes, well uh," The Sheriff cleared his throat uncomfortably. "We can continue this later, at a more convenient time. Perhaps when you have more to share with me about your investigation."

"I'll see you later Gil." Brass said, hustling the Sheriff from the room. He cast Sara a caring smile on the way out, hoping she would understand the meaning behind it.

"I didn't expect to see you tonight." Grissom said honestly when they were alone. She didn't say anything and remained in her position by the door. "Why don't you come in and take a seat." He said, seating himself behind his desk. He quickly shuffled around the papers in front of him, forming them into disorderly pile at one end of the desk. He picked up his mug of coffee and on realising it had long since gone cold, rested it alongside the pile. He looked up to see Sara was now sitting opposite him, an odd expression on her face. "Was there something specific you wanted to talk about?"

"I spoke to my councillor today." She said quietly. "She okayed me to come back to work."

"After just one session?" He asked in disbelief. He had hoped she would spend more time with Sara than that.

"She wants to see me again, but she said coming back to work was fine."

"Ok. But you know you don't have to hurry back…"

"I know. I want to come back." She said more assertively. He nodded, knowing there was point in arguing. Besides, he was in charge of handing out the cases; he could ensure she was only assigned to the ones he was sure she could handle with ease.

"Well I guess you can start again tomorrow night." She nodded.

"Thanks."

"Was there um, anything else?" She shook her head. "Catherine tells me you have started to remember things about… that night."

"Yeah, but nothing much." She shrugged. "I don't remember his face."

"You look better. Less… tired." He observed.

"I actually slept quiet well today." He nodded. She paused and looked up at him, unsure whether she should tell him what she was thinking. "Nick came over last night." She said hesitantly after a moment. "Talking to him really helped." Grissom tried to hide his hurt, but she could see it in his eyes.

"I'm glad."

"Grissom…" She gulped. He looked at her expectantly. "No, never mind it doesn't matter."

"I'm sure it does." She looked up at him, searching his face in the blue light.

"I appreciate everything you have done for me, I really do." She said shyly. "you're a good friend." Grissom found this hard to believe but smiled at the compliment anyway. "The groceries delivered to my door this morning were a particularly nice touch." She grinned. He looked slightly embarrassed at first but then smiled back.

"I thought it was unlikely you had been to get what you needed, I didn't want you to go hungry." He paused and thought for a moment. "How did you know it was me?"

"I just knew. I always do with you." He smiled, not sure what to say to this. He only wished he could understand her and know her as well as she seemed to know him. At times Sara Sidle was still a mystery to him, despite the years he had known her. "I guess I should let you get back to work." She said.

"If you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine." The response rolled off her tongue almost without thinking. "Really. I'll see you tomorrow night."

* * *

And then tomorrow night came. The concerned looks from people as she passed by them did not go unnoticed by Sara but she simply chose to ignore them, desperate for things to feel normal again. She turned the corner to the locker room, only to come face to face with Catherine.

"Sara? What are you doing here? Is everything ok?" She bombarded the questions at her, giving her no chance to answer one before the other came.

"Grissom didn't tell you? I'm coming back to work."

"No he didn't tell me." She sighed. "Is he letting you out in the field?"

"I think so." She shrugged, not sure on what grounds he could keep her from doing fieldwork. "What?" Catherine was looking at her in a very peculiar way.

"Just… take care of yourself ok? I know you probably want to forget about what's happened, believe me, I understand that, but burying yourself in work may not be the way to it. I just don't want you to over do it."

"I know, I won't." Catherine bit her bottom lip and nodded, the disappeared off down the corridor to meet Warrick in the layout room. Sara stood motionless for a few moments considering what Catherine had said. She knew the older woman was right: she was just trying to bury herself in work, trying to forget. But that was her strategy for coping; it always had been since she was a child. She didn't know what else she could have done. She had tried hard to fool the councillor into thinking she was genuinely ready to be back here and had been so relieved when it had worked. She could only hope she would be able to fool her colleagues as easily. Slowly, she pushed open the door of the dimly lit locker room, memories of her argument with Catherine days earlier flooding back to her. She stuffed her bag into her locker then made her way to the layout room to pick up her night's assignment. It didn't come as a total surprise when Grissom paired her with him on an assignment he would have gladly given her to work alone on any other night. But she was in no frame of mind to argue with him and if she was honest with herself, having Grissom there with her as she worked was not entirely unwelcome. He made her feel safe, if only for a short time.

* * *

**Apologies for this chapter being a little short and for taking a while to get it posted. The next chapter will be up very soon. **

**I'm really greatful for all the reviews I recieved for the last chapter. Keep up the good work!**


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

If Warrick hadn't been there she would almost certainly have shouted at Grissom more than she did, and there was a strong possibility she would have cried, not something she liked to do too often, especially at work. Catherine was sat pouring over the evidence again, still churning up nothing despite the addition of the completed analysis of the CCTV footage from around the times of the attacks. All they seemed to show was that the rapist was attacking at seeming random times, possibly waiting for the right woman to catch his eye before he made a move. That thought alone was slightly unsettling. She was already nursing her third coffee of the shift, Sara's return to work the previous shift doing nothing to help her sleep; in fact if anything, it had only made her worry more.

"What's this?" She asked when Grissom handed her a new assignment slip.

"What does it look like?" He said.

"But we already have an assignment Gil. We haven't wrapped up this serial case yet."

"I know that Catherine, but we have had no new evidence for three days now and until we do, there's not much more we can do."

"But Gil…"

"I'm sorry Catherine, but there's nobody else. I need you and Warrick to work this." She looked down at the slip of white paper held loosely in her hand, studying it carefully.

"Does it really need both of us? We are both capable of working a home invasion as a solo case."

"I know that." He sighed. "But I would rather you work it together." They both looked exhausted to the point where ordinarily he would have considered not letting them out into the field at all, but that just wasn't an option now. At least if they were out there together, they could keep an eye out for each other.

"But we can't just abandon this case…" She argued.

"I'm not asking you to abandon it."

"No, just brush it aside for a while." She snarled. "This isn't just any case Grissom…"

"You think I don't understand that?" He said, cutting her off and raising his voice slightly for the first time.

"No, of course not." She said apologetically. "I just mean that not solving this case is not an option for me. I can't do that to Sara."

"It's not an option for any of us." Warrick said, speaking up for the first time since the conversation had begun. Grissom sighed.

"It will only take a few hours." He said. "Please Catherine. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

"Ok." She breathed. Grissom nodded gratefully and then silently left the room. "I guess we better get going." Catherine said quietly, feeling Warrick's dark eyes upon her. She began to pile up the papers she had been studying, only to stop when she felt a strong hand resting on her forearm. She looked up at him, and he saw the turmoil in her eyes.

"You ok?"

"Fine."

"Cath?" He prompted her gently, sensing she was lying.

"Warrick it's fine." She said again. "Let's just go ok?"

"Do you want me to talk to Grissom?" He offered.

"And set him on the war path? He's already tense Warrick, don't make it any worse." He couldn't help bit raise his eyebrow at this blunt comment and it didn't go unnoticed by Catherine. "Sorry Warrick. I'm just…" She dropped her head into her hand then slowly ran her fingers back through her hair, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "This is all so hard. I can't even imagine how Sara is coping… I can't even sleep, let alone her. I just keep picturing it… picturing her…"

"Me too." He sympathised. She gave him a watery smile but held back her tears. She was exhausted but determined that her surfacing emotions would be kept under control and that tiredness would not get the better of her. She suggested again that they leave for their crime scene and Warrick agreed. The sooner they closed this new case, the sooner they could turn their attentions back to the serial rapist case.

* * *

Nick had not been specifically looking for Sara when he walked into the lab to find her hunched over a microscope, but he was pleased when he did. He had been worrying about her since he beginning of the shift.

"Something interesting?" He asked, standing behind her and peering over her shoulder. She flinched slightly at his unexpected presence but turned around to face him with a small smile on her face.

"Only the evidence that's going to solve us this case."

"Not bad for your first day back." He grinned.

"Well I am pretty good." She chuckled, spinning round the chair so she was facing him properly. "Was there something I could help you with Nick?"

"No not really." He admitted.

"Ok." She chuckled. "So… I better get back to it." She said slowly. He nodded, hesitating before he spoke.

"I was speaking to Greg earlier…" He trailed off.

"I would hope so. Working a case together without talking could be rather difficult."

"True." He smiled. "Well the thing is, we are all planning on going out for a few drinks for his birthday after the shift on Thursday and well, he didn't want to ask you himself in case you felt like you couldn't say no, but I know he would love it if you could be there. I understand that you might not feel like it after… well, after everything that's happened… but if you could make it for just a little while, it would make his night, I know it would." She bit her lower lip, considering the offer carefully. She wanted to be there for Greg but she just wasn't sure she was ready for a night out on the town. "You don't have to decide now." He said, sensing her indecision.

"No I, I'll be there." She said.

"Ok." He sighed, sounding slightly relieved. He had been worried this proposal may have upset her in some way. "So um, how's the case going?" He asked.

"It's going well. I have fingerprints running through AIFIS as we speak and I'm just comparing the fibres we found on the victims clothes with those from our suspect's car. What about you? How's your case going"

"I'm just heading down to autopsy now, see if Doc Robbins can cast any light on things."

"Well I better let you get going then." Sara smiled. Nick smiled back, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze before leaving her to work. He had to admit she still looked tired, but some of the spark had returned to her hazel eyes since he had last seen her two nights previously. Maybe returning to work was what she needed after all.

* * *

When Thursday arrived the team, along with an assortment of lab technicians, made a special effort to finish their shift on time and head to a bar for a few drinks. They chose as popular bar just set back from the strip where they often went to drink after work when something stronger than breakfast and coffee was required. As the shifts supervisor, Grissom took it upon himself to buy the first round of drinks and promptly disappeared off to the bar with Warrick in toe to help carry the array of drinks the team had ordered. Sara, wearing a simple black halter-top and jeans, sat herself between Nick and Greg in corner of the room and found herself a little surprised that she was enjoying herself. She was drinking much slower than her friends, afraid to loose her inhibitions or self-awareness. The only other person who was taking it as slowly as her was Grissom as he wanted to keep an eye on her, make sure the whole event was not more than she could handle in her still slightly fragile state.

"So anyone want to come dance with the birthday boy?" Greg asked after they had been in the bar for an hour or so.

"I don't know, I'm not sure I've had enough alcohol for that quiet yet." Catherine said.

"Come on Cath…" Nick said, elbowing her playfully in the ribs.

"Oh ok sure, why not." She shrugged. "Anyone else?"

"I'm in." Wendy piped up, waving a bottle of beer in the air.

"Yeah me too." Warrick and Mandy said together.

"What about you Sara? Fancy a boogie on the dance floor?" Greg asked, wiggling in his seat beside her.

"You know I'm not sure my dancing skills are up to much." She said, making a polite excuse. "Why don't I head to the bar for another round instead?"

"Sounds good to me." He grinned. She smiled back at him glad to see he was having a good time on his birthday. As the others left for the dance floor, Grissom and Sara were left alone at the table. She began rummaging in her bag for her purse when she felt him move around to sit closer to her.

"You need some help?" He asked.

"No it's ok, thanks Griss." She smiled.

"Greg seems to be having fun."

"He does." Grissom agreed. "What about you?"

"Yeah I am actually. It's good to get out you know. I guess I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself lately."

"And now?" She looked at him and smiled at the concern and compassion in his blue eyes, evident even with the dull lighting and slight haze of smoke.

"And now I'm starting to feel more like myself again."

"I'm glad to hear that. I don't like to see you hurting." She blinked slowly and looked away, unsure how to react to what Grissom had just said. However well she thought she knew him, this man was hard to interpret at times and it wasn't like she hadn't been wrong before. Their relationship seemed to be on stable ground at the moment and she wasn't sure she could handle any upset to that or any other aspect of her life right now. Even though she had said she was feeling more and more like herself, she knew she was still fragile, still on edge. She flicked her eyes back to meet his searching for an answer in the intense depth of his gaze. But she found none.

"You want the same again?" She asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Huh?"

"Your drink. You want another one?" She asked gesturing to his empty glass.

"Oh, yes that would be great."

"Ok." She said, sliding off her seat and heading to the bar. Grissom watched her for a while as she waited to be served but then found his gaze wandering around the room. His eyes fell on the dance floor. Wendy and Greg were dancing together while Nick and Mandy watched, laughing at their mock provocative moves. Catherine, who was wearing a casual, tightly fitted navy dress, had her back to him but seemed to have already caught the attention of a tall blond man who was making his move under Warrick's watchful eye. He smiled at the scene, at his team having such a great time together. He was glad they all got along so well, even if they did sometimes have their differences, as it meant they all had someone to rely on when they needed it, for whatever reason, personal or professional. He glanced around the rest of the dimly lit room. He himself had only been here a small number of times but he knew this place was a regular haunt of other members of the team and he could understand why. Although the music was not really to his taste he had to admit it had a good beat and he couldn't ever recall working a case there or anywhere in the immediate surrounding area and that had to be a bonus. As the song changed, his eyes wandered back over to the bar in search of Sara. His glanced along the line of people but couldn't see where she was standing among them. He stood up to get a better look but it made no difference. He quickly looked back over to the dance floor, thinking that she may have already been served and had gone to take Greg his birthday drink, but she wasn't there either. He could feel his heart beginning to pound harder in his chest, as his searching became more urgent. _I only looked away for a minute. I could never forgive myself if something has happened._

* * *

**Hi guys. Thanks to those who have reviewed this story so far and added it to thier favouriets. This is now my most popular story so yay!!! Still not quiet beat my previous number of reviews though and if I could do that I would be really pleased (hint, hint)!!!**

**I know this chapter is a quite bitty but hopefully you like it anyway... Please let me know. **

**Cheers.**


	11. Chapter 11

She felt his breath on her neck long before he spoke to her, his mouth held close to her ear.

"How about I buy your next drink?" His voice was low and coarse and his cologne was sickly sweet.

"No it's ok. I got it." She said. "But thanks." She turned to looked at him and flashed him a polite smile before turning back to look at the bar.

"You here with anyone special?"

"With friends." She said.

"I don't think I've ever seen you in here before."

"I don't come here that often." She lied, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable as he stepped even closer to her.

"That's a shame." He said, resting his hand on her arm. "You're a very attractive woman." She moved so he was no longer touching her be but stepped closer still, trapping her between his broad body and the high wooden bar. "But I guess you already have boyfriend right?"

"No." She gulped, turning to look around her for anyone who could rescue her from this very persistent stranger.

"Well now, I find that hard to believe." She tired desperately to catch the bar tenders eye, willing him to come over and serve her next. "Now I feel like I really must buy you a drink." He snaked his hand around her waist and spoke so his lips brushed gently against her ear. She tried to pull away again but he just pushed her closer to the bar, trapping her now in a corner.

"Please, I have to get back to friends." She begged quietly, her heart suddenly racing. She knew he couldn't do anything, the bar was packed full of people, but she still felt panicked. She knew herself that weeks earlier she could have easily handled this situation, got herself away, but as it was now she didn't have the strength and it frightened her.

"Just one drink." She tried to flatten herself against the wall and closed her eyes, willing it to be over.

* * *

Grissom waded through the crowd of people at the bar, his eyes frantically scanning peoples faces and the backs of their heads. When he reached the far end of the room and still hadn't found her he dove his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He hit the speed dial and willed her to answer. "Hi this is Sara, sorry I can't take you call…" He flipped the phone closed, cutting off the answer message mid sentence and cursing silently to himself. He looked around the room again, this time catching a glimpse of man and a woman stood against the back wall. He couldn't tell who the woman was from where he was standing, the man's head blocking his view of her face. He moved closer and a sense of relief washed over him as he realised the woman was in fact Sara. This was however soon replaced by a feeling of intense anger as he saw the look of panic on her face and the way he was standing, his hands either side of her, pinning her back against the wall. He couldn't hear what she was saying to him but could read the words as they fell from her lips.

"Please, don't touch me. Don't hurt me." His hand reached out and grabbed the man roughly by the shoulder spinning him around to face him.

"Excuse me sir, but I don't think my friend here wants to speak with you any longer." At the sound of Grissom's voice Sara opened her eyes, finally allowing herself to breath again.

"Well I think that's for the lady to decide." He sneered. Sara stepped forward and Grissom reached out a hand to take hold of hers.

"I better get back to my friends." She said stepping even closer to Grissom's body so he could feel her trembling.

"Come on Sara." He slipped his hand around her waist and began to lead her away.

"You don't know what your missing honey! We could have been good together." The man shouted after them. Grissom stopped and began to turn back, about to tell this man exactly what he thought of him and how he had treated Sara, but she sensed the intention of his movement and took hold of his hand to stop him.

"Leave it Grissom. Let's just go." She could see the anger flickering in his eyes, something she was sure she had never seen in him before. There was something in the tone of her voice and the way she looked up at him that made him relax just enough that he no longer wanted to hit the man or make a scene. He gently smiled at her and ran his hand along the length of her back. They were standing very close, facing each other, only inches apart. He noticed how beautiful she was, her features glowing even in the semi darkness, and hated himself for it. He had just taken her away from a man who had no doubt seen her in the same way, objectified her, and now he was close to doing the same.

"Gil?" He looked past Sara's shoulder to see Catherine standing behind her, a look of concern etched in her features. "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine." He replied as Catherine walked around to his side to see Sara's face.

"Are you ok?" She asked. Sara nodded but seemed to be looking straight through her. Catherine turned to see where Sara's gaze was falling. She was looking at a tall, dark haired man who appeared to be glaring right back at them. "Has that man said something to you?" She asked, anger creeping into her voice.

"Don't worry about it Catherine, it's fine." She said, but the distressed look in her eyes gave her away. Catherine frowned.

"Are you sure Sara? I can take you home if you…"

"No you don't have to do that." She said shaking her head and crossing her arms protectively over her body. Looking up, she gave Catherine a watery smile. "You should get back to Greg." Catherine looked to Grissom before moving and he gave her a nod to signal that he would look after Sara, reassuring her that it was ok to leave.

"Ok." She said, squeezing the brunette's shoulder before returning to the dance floor. Sara waited until she had gone, then tucking her hair behind her ear she turned back to Grissom.

"I think I'm going to head home." He nodded. "Why don't you go and join the others? I'll just catch a cab."

"I'll come with you." He said simply.

"You don't have to."

"Do you honestly think Catherine would ever forgive me if I let you leave alone?"

"I guess not." She chuckled. "But I'm sure you could talk her round if you do want to stay."

"I want to make sure you're ok." She frowned. "Let me take you home Sara."

"Well I guess I can't refuse then can I?" He led her towards the door, only to be stopped by Greg bounding up to them looking a little flustered as a result of his dancing.

"You're leaving?" He asked, resting his hand on Sara's shoulder.

"Yeah sorry Greg, I'm just a little tired."

"Do I at least get a birthday hug?" He pouted. She wasted no time in wrapping her arms tightly around him, placing a small kiss on his cheek as she pulled away again.

"Happy birthday Greggo." She smiled.

"Thank you." He grinned back. "And thank you so much for coming out. I know you've had a hard time lately."

"But I wouldn't have missed this. You're a great guy Greg you know that?" He smiled shyly and hugged her again. "Ok Greg, a little less tightly with the hugging." She chuckled.

"Sorry." He said, releasing his grip on her.

"Now go and enjoy the rest of your night." He nodded eagerly then turned quickly to Grissom.

"Thanks for coming Griss."

"My pleasure. Happy Birthday Greg." He said holding out his hand to the younger man. Greg took it and then, to Grissom's great surprise, wrapped his other arm around his back and patted it with his hand. Grissom hugged him back then pulled away, looking a little shell-shocked.

"I think it's time for us to go." Sara laughed, finding Grissom's expression a little funnier than she perhaps should have. "Have a good night Greg." And with that he bounded back off to join the rest of his friends as Sara and Grissom headed out into the cool night air. It was drizzling slightly and Sara found herself shivering as they walked alone the street in search of a taxi. Silently, Grissom slipped off his jacket and rested it over her bare shoulders. She pulled it closer around her, breathing in the scent of his cologne and turned to him with a smile.

"Thanks."

"You look like you need it more than I do." He said, waving out his hand to stop a passing yellow cab. He waited for it to stop before opening the door and allowing Sara to step inside and then sliding in beside her. She told the driver her address then settled with her head resting against the window. She found herself mesmerised by the passing neon lights. She had never really looked at them before, usually too busy driving or thinking about a case when she was on the road at night. Her mind began to wander in the silence, the face of the man in the bar merging with tangled memories of the night she was attacked.

"Did he touch you?" Grissom's voice unexpectedly broke the silence. She slowly turned to look at him.

"No." She answered quietly. "He just scared me that's all." She diverted her gaze out the window again. "I guess I'm just a little paranoid." They fell quiet again for a while but Sara could feel Grissom's occasional glances towards her.

"Do you think he feels bad?" She asked.

"Who?" Asked Grissom, unsure if she was now talking about her attacker or the man in the bar.

"Either of them, both of them."

"Would it make you feel better if they did?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. Then she turned to look at him. "Why?"

"I just want to know how you feel."

"Would you judge me if I said it would make me feel better?"

"No." She nodded, but still didn't give him a straight answer and turned to look out of the window again.

"Do you think he'll attack again? Do you think we'll find him?"

"I can't speak for him."

"But you can speak for the lab." She said, looking at him again. "Do you think we'll find him?"

"We're doing everything we can." She let out a bitter laugh.

"That's not an answer Grissom, don't give me that."

"I don't have an answer." He said sadly. "I wish I did. I wish I could say yes." The taxi came to a halt outside Sara's apartment block and she pulled her eyes away from Grissom's to find the taxi fare and hand it to the driver. She opened the door and swung her legs out of the car but noticed Grissom wasn't moving so turned back to speak to him.

"Do you want to come up?" She sensed his hesitancy. "Please Griss, I could do with a friend." He couldn't say no to that, Sara rarely admitted that she needed human contact, so he silently followed her out of the taxi and up to her apartment. It was raining much more heavily now and they were both dripping wet by the time they had made it across the car park and inside.

"Do you want coffee?" Sara asked. "It might warm us up a bit."

"Coffee would be great." He said, standing awkwardly in the centre of the room.

"I'm sorry you got so wet." She shivered. "I should have given you your coat back."

"Don't worry about it." He said. "Look why don't you go and change into something dry and I'll make the coffee? You look freezing."

"No really it's ok, I can do it."

"I know you can. I'm just trying to help." She turned around and smiled at him.

"Ok thanks, that would be great." She said, brushing a hand down his arm as she walked past him and into the bedroom. When she came back into the room she was greeted by the comforting aroma of fresh coffee and the oddly comforting sight of Grissom standing and pouring it in her kitchen. "Hey." She smiled. "I uh, found this." She held out Nick's hoodie, which she still hadn't returned to him. "It might not fit but it's worth a try. That shirt's soaking." He took it from her outstretched hand and gave her a questioning look. "It's Nick." She explained. "He left it here a while back and I just haven't got around to giving it back to him yet. I'm sure he won't mind you borrowing it."

"Ok." He said, handing her one of the mugs of coffee and heading to the bathroom to change. She picked up his mug too and settled herself on the couch. Grissom emerged wearing Nick's hoodie, which admittedly was just a little on the small side, and sat down next to her, accepting the mug she held out to him. Sara found herself smiling at his appearance, his dishevelled hair and the casual clothing. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him in anything other than a shirt.

"It looks good on you." He looked at her sceptically.

"It's a little snug." He said extending an arm to demonstrate how short the sleeves were. Sara leaned across him and rolled the sleeve up his arm then set about doing the same with the other.

"Better?" She smiled up at him.

"Much." He said smiling back. "Look Sara about tonight, I'm sorry I let that man upset you…"

"Don't be."

"I shouldn't have let you go to the bar alone."

"Grissom it's ok." She said, resting her hand on his. "I don't need you to apologise and I don't need you to look after me all the time, or to pity me…"

"Sara this is not about pity…"

"But you do feel sorry for me, for what happened to me." She said. "I can see it in your eyes."

"Is that all you see?" She swallowed hard, suddenly aware of how close they were sitting: their knees touching, her hand sandwiched between his, their eyes locked together. She bit her lower lip and gently shook her head, finding herself unable to speak. "I want you to know how much you mean to me Sara, how much I care for you…" He trailed off, suddenly feeling very nervous. "Sara I…" She leaned closer to him and he could feel her breath, hot and fast against his cheek. "Sara." His voice was barely a whisper, his word cut short as her soft lips covered his. After a few blissful seconds she pulled away and flicked her eyes open, leaving him longing for more. "Sara." He said again, the only word he could muster at that moment.

"Grissom I…" She stopped as his hand came to her face, cupping her chin. She closed her eyes and nestled her cheek closer into his hand. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"I'm not." She looked again into his crystal eyes and smiled. "But I don't want to take advantage of you…"

"Your not." She breathed. "Believe me Grissom your not." She leaned in and they kissed again, deeper this time, Grissom's hand finding it's way to her still damp hair, holding her closer to him.

"Why did we wait so long for this?" She whispered when they came apart again.

"I was scared." He said honestly. "I didn't want to loose you."

"You could never loose me." She assured him, running her fingers down his cheek and along his jaw. He leaned in, taking his turn to initiate the kiss. She melted into him, loving the way he felt and smelt and held her so delicately. When they finally pulled away Sara rested her head against Grissom's chest, leaning her tired body against him as he wrapped his arms around her waist. It felt right to both of them being here like this, so close, so at ease in each other's presence. This was how it should be and how it would be from now on.

* * *

**So yeah, I got a bit soppy of it but I hope you like this chapter anyway. I just had to throw a bit of GSR in there, I just couldn't resist!**

**Please let me know what you think. It makes me smile everytime I see another of you lovely people has left me a comment about my writing.**

**Cheers guys, I will update for you again soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

Although Sara could have easily fallen asleep in Grissom arms and Grissom for his part would have been more than happy to let her, they decided it was better that he not stay. Instead, he kissed her goodnight and left her alone to sleep, arranging to meet for coffee before the shift. Grissom had chosen to wear his favourite work shirt for the occasion. He wasn't sure why, it wasn't as though he hadn't have coffee with Sara dozens of times before, but this time was different. This time he had kissed her. He pushed open the door to the diner around the corner from Sara's apartment and stepped inside. It was warm and smelt delicious, like Sara's kitchen had the night before. He glanced around the room, smoothing his shirt down with his hands as he did so. Then he saw her, sitting at the counter flicking through a magazine and he thought again how beautiful she was.

"Sara." Her name fell delicately off his lips and she turned with a smile.

"Grissom hi." She stood up to reach his eye level and he placed a hand on her waist.

"Hi." He leaned in and gave her simple kiss. She smiled against his lips.

"You know how great it feels to be able to do that?" He smiled and pressed his lips to hers again in reply.

"How about I get the coffee, you get the table?"

"Sounds good." She agreed, choosing a table at the back of diner by the window. She didn't have to wait long for Grissom to arrive with the drinks.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked.

"Yeah I did thanks. You?"

"As well as can be expected." He said. Sara looked at him, concerned and confused. "I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"That is so cheesy you know that?" She laughed.

"Yes. But it made you laugh. I love it when you laugh."

"Yeah there hasn't been a whole lot of that lately." She sighed, sipping her coffee, leaving the mug to linger on her lips.

"I hope to change that."

"So you don't regret last night?" She asked quietly, placing the mug back on the table and watching as the coffee swirled against the sides.

"Sara?" He placed his hand over hers. "Why would I regret it?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I just thought…"

"Well don't." She lifted her eyes and looked at him through her long eyelashes. "The only thing I regret is waiting as long as I did to tell you how I feel, to act on my feelings for you."

"Really?"

"Really." He assured her with a gentle smile. She smiled back and tucked her hair shyly behind one ear.

"What about work?" She asked after a moment. This may not be the right moment to bring this up but it had niggling away at her and she knew it must be worrying him too. After all, what they were doing was entirely against lab policy and she didn't want to jeopardise everything Grissom had worked for. She couldn't handle the thought of him loosing his job for her, even if it was a little romantic.

"We'll deal with that when we come to it."

"We're coming to it in approximately an hour Grissom." She said slightly urgently.

"Well I guess we can keep this to ourselves. I've been hiding how I feel for so long anyway, it's not as though I've not had enough practice." He joked.

"I guess that's true…"

"Is that ok?" He asked, sensing her slight uneasiness. He understood she wouldn't like lying to her friends.

"It is." She nodded with a smile. "And I guess this is only our first date…" She grinned. Grissom suddenly looked a little shocked, as though the thought had not yet dawned on him. It had in fact, but to hear her say it made it seem a lot more real and a lot more exciting. He was actually dating Sara Sidle. He hadn't even realised he was almost chocking on his coffee until Sara laid her hand on his arm.

"You ok?" She laughed. "You look a little surprised."

"Yeah it's just… we're on a date. I'm on a date with Sara Sidle." There. He had said it out load and it felt great, but not as great as when her lips brushed against his seconds later.

"And I just kissed Gilbert Grissom." She grinned.

* * *

When their coffee was finished it was time to head to the lab for the start of the next shift. Grissom disappeared to his office to collect the night's assignments ready to distribute to his team while Sara went to the break room in search of more caffeine and any gossip she could gather from the remainder of Greg's birthday celebrations.

"You guys look uh… healthy." She said as she entered the room to find Nick, Warrick and Catherine all cradling mugs of coffee and handing around a packet of Tylenol. "Good night?"

"Yeah you could say that." Catherine grimaced. "My head is certainly saying it was anyway."

"That good huh?"

"Yeah Sara you missed out? What happened to you?" Nick asked, oblivious to the events that had taken place in the bar. Catherine glanced nervously in Sara's direction knowing that even with a hangover the boys were likely to be very upset if she told them why she had left.

"I was just tired and I didn't want someone to have to baby sit me for the rest of the night so I thought I should head home."

"Well it was good that you came at all Sara." Warrick said, glaring at Nick for sounding a little ungrateful.

"Just as long as Greg had a good time."

"Oh he did." Catherine chuckled.

"Where is Greg anyway?" She asked noticing his absence from the group.

"Last I knew, he was in the locker room, relishing the darkness and a strong cup of his special stash of coffee."

"Oh." Sara said smiling. Clearly it had been a good night. It was then that Grissom walked in to hand out the assignments for the night.

"Hello everyone, I trust we are all ready and raring to go?" There was a mummer of agreement to which Grissom could only smile sceptically before proceeding with the task at hand. "Nick you're me, a DB at the 'Vegas Lights' motel. Warrick I want you to work a break in at a bar on the strip. Sara and Catherine, you have a homicide at a home in Henderson and Greg… where is Greg?"

"I'm here." He said sheepishly from his position in the doorway behind Grissom.

"Ah Greg, nice of you to join us. Am I right in thinking you would appreciate a night in the lab?"

"Really?" He sounded more than a little relieved at the prospect of not having to spend the night out in the field.

"Yes really. Think of it as a belated birthday gift." Greg grinned broadly then slinked off to find some evidence to process. "Nick, I'll meet you at the scene." Grissom said as he left the room to gather his kit.

"Sure thing boss." Nick replied before taking one last gulp of his coffee and heading out himself.

"Ok Sara, ready to go?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah. You want to drive?"

"Sure. Let me just grab my keys and we can get going." So the two women headed out to Catherine's Tahoe and set about their drive to Henderson. Catherine had turned on the radio and they sat quietly for a while listening to the music. It was when they stopped at a set of traffic lights that Catherine took the moment to ask Sara about the previous night.

"So, did you get home ok last night?"

"Yeah thanks. I took a cab with Grissom." She said casually.

"Did you talk to him about what happened?"

"There wasn't really as lot to talk about." She said looking away and suddenly very interested in her hands that were folded in her lap.

"You sure about that?" Catherine prompted, eager that Sara continue to be open about how she was feeling and how her attack was affecting her. "You seemed pretty upset."

"He just came on a bit strongly. I know he wouldn't have done anything but… I'm just a little edgy I guess."

"Well that's to be expected Sara. It's never nice to be in that situation but especially not after what you've been through."

"I know." She sighed. "I just want to forget about it all but it's hard to do that when I keep being reminded of it all the time." Catherine smiled sympathetically.

"It'll get better." Sara nodded.

"But uh, what about you?" She asked, changing the subject. "Did I miss much after I left."

"Just some spectacular dancing on Greg's part. The rest of us were very well behaved"

"Now that I don't believe." Sara chuckled.

"Well I guess we weren't total innocent, but I blame the Tequila."

"Tequila huh? Anything you want to share?"

"Oh look we're here." Catherine chimed as they turned into the street where their crime scene lay, seeing the blue and white tape surrounding the perimeter.

"Hmm, lucky escape Willows." Catherine simply shot her a cheeky smile before switching off the engine and stepping out into the night air. Brass strode towards them from inside the tape, holing it up for them to pass underneath as he spoke.

"It's a bit of a messy one I'm afraid. David's with the body in the kitchen, a 42-year-old female with multiple stab wounds. He's just waiting for you to clear it before he takes her away."

"Ok thanks Jim." Catherine said as the three of them walked towards the house. "Boy you uh, you weren't kidding about it being a mess huh?" She grimaced, seeing the trial of blood in the hallway.

"Hey Cath, why I don't start inside, process the body? You can do the perimeter." Sara offered, seeing the look of disgust on her colleagues pale face.

"That uh, that might be a good idea." She said gratefully. "I'll come and help you in here when I'm done." A little over two hours later the two women were loading their kits and bags of evidence back into the Tahoe ready to return to the lab. After the initial shock of seeing so much blood in her slightly delicate state, Catherine had recovered enough to help Sara process inside they were sure they had all the evidence they would need for a conviction. As Catherine slipped the key into the ignition her phone began to ring and she answered it with a tired sigh.

"This is Catherine… yeah we're are just on our way back now… ok where…. yeah… about 10 minutes… ok Gil we'll see you back at the lab." She hung up and dropped her phone into the centre console. "There's been traffic accident on our route back to the lab, a car has hit a pedestrian. Sofia's there and she wants us to come and take a look. Apparently the driver seems very confused but she has been breathalysed and she hasn't been drinking. Sofia just wants us to take a look at the vehicle and take a blood sample into tox." Catherine explained as she turned on the engine.

"Ok well I guess we better get going then." As predicted, 10 minutes later they arrived at the scene. The paramedic's were just closing the door of the ambulance and there were a number of police cars and officers redirecting the traffic and trying to hold back the hoard of on lookers. Blue lights flashed around the women as they made their way through the crowd, holding up their badges to gain access to the vehicle.

"Sofia hi." Catherine shouted to greet the blond over the commotion.

"Hi guys, thanks for getting here so quickly."

"No problem. What can we do for you?"

"I just need you to check out the car, see if there is any drug paraphernalia or alcohol bottles, anything that might have caused the driver to loose concentration. She says she put her foot on the break but it seemed like it didn't work. Maybe you could check out the break fluid or the connections, see if she was telling the truth."

"Sure." They both pulled on a pair of gloves and Catherine headed to the drivers side of the vehicle while Sara spoke to Sofia.

"How's the pedestrian?"

"The kid's only 15. I heard the medics say something about surgery. It seems a little touch and go." Sara watched as a policeman walked the stumbling driver away from the second ambulance and hustled her into the back of a marked car. She was an attractive woman, maybe only in her mid twenties herself.

"We better make sure we find something then." Sara sighed, moving over to the passenger side of the vehicle and opening the door. She flicked on her touch and leaned over to look inside. There was nothing obvious on the passenger seat so she shone the light on the floor. It fell onto a white paper cup, which Sara picked up and turned over in her hand to examine. Her heart plummeted as she saw the symbol printed on the other side: A cartoon smiling coffee bean with the words "bean there done that" printed above it in bold green lettering. The imaged seemed to be looking at her and laughing. She dropped the cup onto the seat and stumbled backwards, her heart suddenly racing, blood rushing in her ears. She crashed back into one of the police officers, grabbing his arm to steady herself. All the noise and the flashing lights suddenly seemed to feel overwhelming to her. She closed her eyes, willing it to all go away, for this not to be happening.

"You ok miss?" She wanted desperately to answer but she couldn't seem to form any words.

"Sara?" Catherine had noticed Sara's hurried exit from the vehicle and was now walking around the car towards her, pulling off her gloves. "Sara you ok?" She supported her under one elbow, her other hand resting on her shoulder. She could feel her shaking and could see the dread in the younger woman's eyes as they flashed open to look at her. Her voice was quiet and strained but her words were clear when she finally managed to speak.

"I shouldn't be here."

* * *

**Another cliffhanger I'm affraid.... you will just have to wait for the next chapter to find out what is going on, if you haven't already guessed that is...**

**I would love to hear what you think of this chapter or the story as a whole and if you can just take a few seconds to leave me a review I will be very grateful :)**


	13. Chapter 13

"Sara what do you mean you shouldn't be here?" Catherine asked, worried for Sara who was shaking more violently by the second.

"It's him Catherine, he's back." She flashed a terrified look in Catherine's direction then shot her gaze back in the direction of the car. "The coffee cup…"

"Sara, you can't be sure on the basis of a coffee cup…" She tired to reason but instantly realised her mistake. Sara was clearly terrified and there would be no reasoning with her in this state. She just needed to get her away from here.

"But think about it Catherine, she's a woman driving on her own, she's confused like she's been drugged…"

"Ok Sara it's ok." She said trying to clam the increasingly frantic girl she held in her arms. She looked towards the car then back to Sara and had to admit, it did sound like this woman could have been a potential victim of Sara's attacker. "Why don't we get you to the car?" Sara nodded, wanting nothing more than to be away from this crime scene and any reminder of what had happened to her that night. She felt Catherine steering her around and back towards the Tahoe glancing nervously around her as she walked, her legs moving without a thought. It was then that she saw him and it took every ounce of her strength not to scream. Her mind flashed back to the night she was attacked: a man, the man standing before her in the crowd, pouring sugar into her coffee for her, a feeling of disorientation, the same man helping her out to her car, waking up feeling violated and alone.

"Sara? Sara honey, what's wrong?" Catherine's voice pulled her back to the chaos and fear of the present. She had stopped moving, the colour had drained from her already pale face and Catherine could feel her swaying in her grasp. "Sara, look at me honey." Catherine rested her palm on Sara's face, searching her glassy hazel eyes for any indication of what was happening inside her.

"He's here." She gasped. "The man… with the hat… it's him." Catherine followed Sara's line of vision to see the man she was talking about. "Ugh…" Sara gently pushed herself back from Catherine's arms and bent forward retching onto the concrete. Sofia, who had been watching from a distance until now, thought that if ever there was time to intervene, this was the moment. Although she hadn't worked for Sara for that long, she knew her well enough to be mindful of her desire for privacy and to know that she hated to feel or appear weak and vulnerable.

"Catherine what's going on?" She would have addressed Sara herself but she seemed in no fit state to be answering questions of any kind as the colour drained even further from her cheeks and she swayed in Catherine's arms.

"Sofia, that man over there, the one in the hat. Arrest him, he's the guy who's been attacking these women, the guy who attacked Sara." Catherine explained hurriedly as she tried to help Sara to the car. "And get that vehicle down to the lab, we'll process it there."

"Ok." Was all Sofia could manage to say as she watched helplessly as Catherine lowered Sara's trembling body into the passenger seat.

* * *

By the time they reached the lab Sara no longer felt physically sick but she was still shaking and her silence throughout the journey had served only to worry Catherine more. Catherine had planned to get Sara out of the car and into her office without being seen but as they turned the corner past the trace lab Greg had spotted them and instantly realised something was wrong.

"Sara?"

"Greg is, is Grissom here?" Catherine asked, stumbling over her words as she opened her office door and led Sara inside.

"No it's just me. Everyone else is out in the field. Why, what's going on?" Catherine sat Sara down pulled off her jacket in a desperate attempt to make her more comfortable before answering.

"We got called to another scene on our way in. Another victim of the serial rapist."

"Oh God, Sara I'm sorry." Greg knelt in front of her resting his hand of her knee. She looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. "Are you ok?" She couldn't answer, only stared at him wide eyed, so Catherine answered for her.

"Not exactly Greg. Look we're only here to drop of the evidence from the homicide then I'm taking her home."

"No." Sara whispered. "I don't want to go home."

"But Sara…"

"Please."

"Ok." Catherine said gently, stroking Sara's hair to try and calm her more. She was still shaking and if Catherine was honest with herself she was probably shaking herself now too. "Greg, can you go and get Sara some water and see if there is any Tylenol left in that packet in the break room." Greg nodded and did as he was told, leaving the two women alone.

"I'm sorry Cath." Sara said, her voice a little louder but still weak and strained.

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I was very unprofessional."

"You were anything but Sara. You knew you could compromise the evidence and you left the scene." Sara laughed bitterly and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"You know I half wished he would attack again, just so we would have a chance to catch him… I just didn't think I would have to see her, have to see him again… I didn't think that another woman would have to be hurt and now that poor kid has been run over… I'm a horrible, horrible person…" She sobbed.

"Oh Sara, come here." Catherine wrapped the girl tightly in her arms and rocked her gently back and forth.

"I'm so selfish." She chocked out.

"Sara that's not true, you mustn't think that."

"What if the kid's not ok?" She asked, pulling herself away from Catherine's embrace. Catherine didn't have an answer for that. It seemed very cruel that the young boy should have been pulled into this already disgusting set of circumstances and she could only hope he would recover from his injuries. The door was pushed open and Greg walked in.

"Here." He handed Sara a glass of cold water and two Tylenol. She took the water but left the pills in his outstretched hand.

"Sara it's just Tylenol." Catherine said, sensing her reluctance to take them. "It might just help calm you, stop you shaking so much."

"I'm just a little cold." She said. Catherine looked worriedly at Greg, concerned that Sara might be in shock.

"Please Sara, just take them." He said, taking hold of her hand and dropping the white tablets into her clammy palm. She slowly placed the pills into her mouth and swallowed them with a mouthful of the water. Catherine left Sara's side to rummage in her cupboard and retrieve a thin woollen blanket, which she had kept there for those nights when Lindsey had come to the lab. It had been a long time since it had been needed for that but it had come in useful several times since so she had kept it just in case.

"Here, this might help." She said, draping the blanket over Sara's shoulders.

"Thanks." Sara smiled weakly.

"Are you going to be ok here?" Catherine asked. "I'm going to call Sofia, see how she's getting on with out suspect."

"Yeah, we'll be ok." Greg nodded.

"I'll just be outside." Catherine said as she opened the door to leave, closing it carefully behind her.

"Well I didn't think anyone could look worse than me tonight." Greg joked. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A little."

"Sara, I'm sorry I haven't really been here for you through all of this. I guess I just didn't know what to say to you, you've always been so strong."

"Greg don't. It's ok." He took hold of one of her hands and squeezed it gently. There was a crashing sound from behind him as the door burst open and Grissom rushed in.

"Sara, I heard what happened. Are you ok?" He came up beside her and laid a strong hand on her shoulder. Greg stood up and backed away.

"I'm fine Grissom."

"Are you sure? You look terrible." He said bluntly.

"Believe me, she looks better than she did half an hour ago." Catherine said from where she stood in the doorway.

"Perhaps you should go home." He suggested.

"She wont go."

"Have you been checked over by a doctor? You may be in shock." He knelt in front of her and took hold of one of her hands as Greg had moments before.

"I'm fine." She said again not meeting his eyes.

"Sara I'm sorry you've had to go through this. I can't help but feel responsible."

"This isn't your fault." She said, looking up at him now. "It's not anyone's fault. I just want to make sure we get the guy."

"Sofia said they have him in custody. They're going to interview him soon." Catherine said. "Could you go down to PD and get a DNA sample please Greg? We can compare it to the samples we have from the cases and hopefully get a match."

"Yeah." He said, eager to help in anyway he could. "Feel better ok Sara."

"It was him I know it was." She said quietly when Greg had gone. She leaned forward to rest her head on Grissom shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her back. "I just want this all to be over."

* * *

Warrick couldn't believe he was standing behind the one-way glass looking at the man who had attacked all these women and recognising him: Chris Slater. They had been friends since childhood, they had grown up together and now this. He felt Catherine's hand on his shoulder.

"You ok?"

"I just can't believe it." He said, too shocked to say much else. "We used to be close."

"You said his brother worked at the coffee shop?"

"Yeah, his adopted brother Tony. We didn't find any matches with the DNA because they weren't actually related." Catherine nodded. "He was at the shop all the time but Tony didn't think anything of it."

"I guess you never expect your own brother to be capable of doing that to someone."

"You never expect it from your friend either." Warrick sighed. "How's Sara?"

"I left her with Grissom. She still seemed pretty shaken up. Sofia mentioned getting her to identify Chris in a line up. I know it will help the case but I'm not sure she's up to it." Catherine said, staring forward at the man who had caused Sara so much pain, hating him more than she thought she was capable of hating anyone. "She was such a mess Warrick. She really scared me." Warrick slipped his hand around her shoulders and pulled her towards him.

"We won't need a line up." He assured her. "The DNA evidence will be more than enough to convict him."

"Henry has Mia Banks' blood sample and the cup from her car. If he finds traces of roofies in both we can have him for attempted rape of her too."

"And the boy she hit?" Warrick asked.

"He's out of surgery. I think he'll be ok." She said hopefully.

"I don't understand how it went so wrong with his last victim. Why did the drugs not work?" He thought out loud.

"I don't know. Maybe she spilt some of the drink or he didn't put in enough of the drug to knock her out before she got in the car." Catherine speculated. "He must have followed her in the hope they would eventually work and he could rape her too." She said, disgust tainting her voice. "Lucky for us I guess." She said bitterly. "I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure we would have caught this guy if this hadn't happened."

"We would have caught him Catherine. You wouldn't have allowed us not to." She smiled up at him, hoping that at least he believed what he was saying because she wasn't so sure.

* * *

Sara had, against the advise of both Catherine and Grissom, come into work to following night. She clearly hadn't slept but she didn't want to sit alone in her apartment. She wanted to be around her friends. She had the radio playing loudly as she worked and it was the music cutting out that made her realise Grissom had come into the room. She turned and smiled at him.

"Sorry, I know you don't like us having music on so loudly. I'll turn it down."

"It's ok." He said. "That's not why I'm here."

"It's not?" He shook his head.

"Can you follow me to my office."

"Ok." She said nervously. "Is everything alright?"

"Just come with me." He said drawing her to her feet by placing a hand under her elbow. She stood up and slowly followed him through the hallway to his office. He pushed open the door to reveal Catherine sitting at his desk. Sara looked cautiously at Grissom, not sure what was going on. Maybe she had been wrong last night. Maybe there had been another attack. Maybe the boy hadn't survived after all. She felt a hand on her back, encouraging her inside. Grissom stood close behind her giving her much welcomed silent support.

"We got him." Catherine said after a moment. "We got him Sara. His DNA was a match."

"It was?" She had been so sure she was right about him but to hear it from Catherine made all the difference.

"It was." Catherine smiled, walking around Grissom desk to meet her as she spoke. "It's over Sara." Sara nodded numbly. Tears welled in her eyes and she stepped forward on trembling legs to wrap Catherine in her arms. Catherine hugged her back, relieved tears forming in her own eyes.

"Thank you." Sara breathed, knowing that no words could really express her gratitude. When Sara pulled away she surprised to feel her cheeks were wet with tears. She hadn't realised she had been crying. Catherine gently brushed the salty moisture from her cheek with her thumb.

"You ok?" She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Thank you," She said again. "So much."

"Just doing my job." Catherine said modestly. But Sara hadn't just been thanking her for solving the case. Catherine had been there for her through all this and she would never forget how much she had helped her. "Besides it was you who recognised him Sara."

"Do the other women know?" Sara asked.

"Sofia is handling that but I just thought it best if Catherine told you herself." Grissom spoke up. Sara turned and smiled at him. He reached out a hand and she stepped forward into his arms, resting herself against his broad body. He rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes. Catherine smiled at the pair, at how much Grissom cared for her, for all of them. Of course she couldn't know how much Sara really meant to him, the true extent of his feelings, but she could have her suspicions. She quietly slipped out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.

"I would give them minute." She said to Warrick, Greg and Nick, who were all hovering outside the door.

Inside the room Grissom and Sara continued to embrace one and other. Grissom ran his hand through her soft hair; the slow movement comforting her and making her feel safer and more wanted than she had ever done before. She lifted her head from his chest and looked into his smiling eyes. He pressed his lips to her forehead then moved down to her mouth. He spoke quietly to her as his hand moved in slow circles on her lower back.

"It's going to be ok now Sara." She smiled and kissed him again. "You know I think there might be some people outside who want to see you." She pried herself from his arms and opened the door. Greg immediately flung himself at her, embracing her tightly and kissing her on the cheek as she pulled away.

"Hey Greggo." She chuckled.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm good." She smiled. Warrick laid his hand on her shoulder and she turned to hug him too.

"Thank you Warrick." She spoke into his chest.

"Hey, I'm just glad we could nail the guy for you." She pulled back from his arms and smiled at him.

"Me too." She looked past Warrick's shoulder to see Nick patiently waiting his turn. The walked up to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Hey there Nick." She pulled him towards her and he wrapped his arms around her. She nestled her face into his neck as she spoke, finding her emotions were beginning to overtake her again.

"Thank you Nick, for everything."

"Anything for you Sara." He said, kissing her hair. "You know where I am if you need me ok. Anytime. That'll never change." She nodded and smiled as a tear fell onto her cheek. Nick brushed it away, slipping his arm around her waist. "I was thinking about stopping for lunch. Anyone want to join me?" There was a chorus of agreement and the team made their way towards the break room. Grissom hovered behind them and as Sara passed him, she silently placed her hand into his pulling him along side her. He slowly dropped his hold on her hand, instead slipping his arm around her waist, bringing his hand to rest on her lower back. She looked up at him and pouted.

"A little more subtle." He whispered. Her pout broke into a smile and he found himself smile down at her too. Catherine turned her head around to see them looking into each other's eyes, smiling, and found herself smiling with them. If anyone deserved a little happiness right now it was Sara and now, with her attacker behind bars and her friends at her side, maybe she could find it.

* * *

**FIN**

**So that's it, the last chapter. **

**I have one final plea for reviews for the story. I would love to know what you think of the ending. I didn't want to make it too sweet or too happy because with what Sara has been thorugh, it can't be expected that everything would suddenly be 100% ok again, even if we would like it to be! I wanted to give a sense that she was still going need her friends to help her through. I would love to know if you think I pulled it off. I find ending stories really hard and I'm not sure I'm ever totally happy with it but you have to stop some time I guess!**

**Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. The response has been great.**

**Cheers!**


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